Magnetic tape cassette loading system in recording and/or reproducing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A magnetic tape cassette recording and/or reproducing apparatus is provided with a novel loading system which includes a magnetic tape cassette holder movable at least horizontally between an eject position wherein the cassette holder extends from the front face of a housing of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus and a loading position wherein the cassette holder is retracted within the housing and the magnetic tape cassette is in its set position. The cassette holder is cooperative with a cassette actuating means which moves a pivotal front closure lid and a sliding lower cassette face closure member of the magnetic tape cassette between open and closed positions. The cassette actuating means is active during the movement of the cassette holder between the eject position and the loading position to open and close the pivotal closure lid and the sliding closure lid of the magnetic tape cassette.

This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 865,282, filedon May 21, 1985, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,117.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a loading system for loadinga magnetic tape cassette in a recording and/or reproducing apparatus.More specifically, the invention relates to an automatic loading systemin a recording and/or reproducing apparatus designed for use withmagnetic tape cassettes having a front pivotal closure lid for openablyclosing the front opening of the magnetic tape cassette, and a slidingclosure member covering a lower cut-out in the cassette housing. Stillmore specifically, the invention relates to a magnetic tape cassetterecording and/or reproducing apparatus including a front-loadingmagnetic tape loading system, specifically designed for recording and/orreproducing magnetic tape cassettes of the type which have a frontpivotal closure lid for openably closing the front opening of themagnetic tape cassette, and a sliding closure member covering a lowercut-out in the cassette housing, such as a peripheral-scan pulse-codemodulated (PCM) audio cassette.

In recent years, various recording and reproducing apparatus have beendeveloped to convert analog signals, such as audio signals and the like,into digital signals, e.g. PCM signals, which are then recorded on andreproduced from magnetic tape serving as a recording medium. Some ofthese apparatus employ rotary heads in order to achieve a relativelyhigh recording density. Recording and reproducing apparatus specificallydesigned to record and reproduce PCM signals and employing a rotary headwill be referred to as a "PCM recorder" throughout the disclosure. A PCMrecorder, at first, pulls a loop of magnetic tape out through a frontopening of the cassette and winds the tape around a rotary drumaccommodating the rotary head and then recording and reproduction isperformed. In such digital recording and reproducing systems, oilydeposits, such as fingerprints or the like, and/or dust adhering to thetape surface may cause dropout of reproduced signals.

Various approaches have been tried to protect the magnetic recordingmedium. For example, a closure lid may be used to retractably cover thefront end opening of the cassette, through which the tape is extractedfor access by a rotary head. This closure lid is held closed while thetape is not in use and is moved to an open position when the cassette isinserted into the PCM recorder. In this earlier approach, a drawback maybe encountered when the closure lid is unintentionally or accidentallyopened, exposing the tape to oily fingerprints, dust and so forth whileit is not in use. A locking mechanism which can conveniently lock theclosure lid in its open and closed positions could resolve this problem.

Such a magnetic tape cassette which has a tape-protective pivotal lidhas been disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,255, issued on Sept. 14,1976, to Akio SERIZAWA and assigned to the common assignee to thepresent invention. In the disclosure, the magnetic tape cassette for amagnetic recording and/or reproducing apparatus has a housing with anopening through which the tape can be withdrawn from the cassettehousing for the recording and reproduction of signals thereon, as by oneor more rotary heads, and a lid is provided to normally close thehousing opening when the cassette is not in use and thereby protect thetape from damage. The lid is associated with a latch mechanism forlocking the lid in its closed position, and this latch mechanism can bereleased by inserting the cassette into a cassette holder. Recentlydeveloped magnetic tape cassettes additionally include sliding closuresor shutters which cover a lower opening which allows entry of loadingdevices and tape reel drives of the recording and reproducing apparatus.These sliding closures can also move between open and closed positions.The sliding shutters are associated with lock mechanisms which lock themin both their open and closed positions.

For loading such magnetic tape cassettes having a pivotal closure lidand a sliding closure member for recording and/or reproduction, it hasbecome necessary to actuate the pivotal lid and the sliding closuremember so that they may be moved to the open position when loaded into arecording and/or reproducing apparatus and to the closed position whenejected from the recording and reproducing apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a principle object of the present invention to providea magnetic tape cassette recording and/or reproducing apparatus having aloading system which can automatically actuate a pivotal closure lid anda sliding closure member of a magnetic tape cassette.

Another object of the invention is to provide a magnetic tape cassetterecording and/or reproducing apparatus including a front-loading loadingsystem which can actuate a pivotal closure lid and a sliding closuremember between open and closed positions depending upon the position ofa magnetic tape cassette within the apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide a peripheral-scanrecording and/or reproducing apparatus, such as a PCM recording and/orreproducing apparatus including a magnetic tape cassette loading systemwhich allows loading of magnetic tapes having a pivotal closure lid anda sliding closure member by simply putting the cassette on a cassetteholder of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.

In order to accomplish the aforementioned and other objects, a magnetictape cassette recording and/or reproducing apparatus, according to thepresent invention, is provided with a novel loading system whichincludes a magnetic tape cassette holder movable at least horizontallybetween an eject position wherein the cassette holder extends from thefront face of a housing of the recording and/or reproducing apparatusand a loading position wherein the cassette holder is retracted withinthe housing, and the magnetic tape cassette is in its set position. Thecassette holder is cooperative with a cassette actuating means whichmoves a pivotal front closure lid and a sliding lower cassette faceclosure member of the magnetic tape cassette between open and closedpositions. The cassette actuating means is active during the movement ofthe cassette holder between the eject position and the loading positionto open and close the pivotal closure lid and the sliding closure lid ofthe magnetic tape cassette.

According to one aspect of the invention, a cassette loading system fora recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a magnetic tape cassettewhich has at least a sliding closure member openably closing a cut-outin the bottom of the cassette casing, which cassette loading systemcomprises cassette holding means for receiving and holding the magnetictape cassette within a cassette receptacle defined therein, the cassetteholding means being movable between an eject position, in which it canreceive a cassette and allow a cassette to be removed, and a loadingposition at which cassette loading is completed, and first means,associated with the cassette holding means, for actuating the slidingclosure member from its closed position to its open position insynchronism with movement of the cassette holding means from the ejectposition to the loading position.

Preferably, the first means comprises a first pusher means for shiftingthe magnetic tape cassette in the cassette receptacle from a firstposition, at which the magnetic tape cassette can be removed from thecassette receptacle, to a second position, at which the magnetic tapecassette is held within the cassette receptacle, the pusher means beingassociated with the cassette holding means for synchronous operationtherewith and actuating the sliding closure member from the closedposition to the open position during shifting of the magnetic tapecassette from the first position to the second position.

In the further preferred embodiment, the recording and/or reproducingapparatus is adapted to perform a recording and/or reproducing operationfor the magnetic tape cassette which includes first locking means forlocking the sliding closure member in the closed position, and the firstmeans also comprises a first unlocking means active during operation ofthe pusher means for unlocking the first locking means of the magnetictape cassette, thereby enabling the sliding closure member to beactuated from the closed position to the open position.

The cassette holding means comprises an elastic means for elasticallyholding the magnetic tape cassette in the second position.

In the alternative, the cassette loading system in the preferredconstruction also comprises second means, associated with the cassetteholding means, for actuating the sliding closure member from the openposition to the closed position in synchronism with movement of thecassette holding means from the loading position to the eject position.The second means comprises a second pusher means for shifting themagnetic tape cassette in the cassette receptacle from the secondposition to the first position, the second pusher means being associatedwith the cassette holding means for synchronous operation therewith andactuating the sliding closure member from the open position to theclosed position during shifting of the magnetic tape cassette from thesecond position to the first position. The magnetic tape cassette alsoincludes second locking means for locking the sliding closure member inthe open position, and the second means also comprises a secondunlocking means active during operation of the second pusher means forunlocking the second locking means of the magnetic tape cassette,thereby enabling the sliding closure member to be actuated from the openposition to the closed position.

The cassette holding means may comprise a horizontally movable componentand a vertically movable component, the vertically movable componentholding the magnetic tape cassette, the horizontally movable componentbeing movable between the eject position and an intermediate positionlocated at the intersection between the horizontal movement of thehorizontally movable component and the vertical movement of thevertically movable component, the vertically movable component beingmovable between the intermediate position and the loading position andcooperative with the horizontally movable component for horizontalmovement therewith. A cassette loading system also comprises firstlocking means for locking the vertically movable component at theintermediate position for restricting vertical movement thereof duringhorizontal movement with the horizontally movable component, and asecond locking means for locking the horizontally movable component atthe intermediate position for restricting horizontal movement thereof,during vertical movement of the vertically movable component.

The cassette loading system further comprises a pair of arms, one end ofwhich is associated with the vertically movable member and the other endof which is associated with the horizontally movable component, the armsbeing connected by means of a pivot for pivotal movement between a firstposition in which the vertically movable component is vertically offsetfrom the horizontally movable component, and a second position in whichthe vertically movable component is in an intermediate position. Thearms are associated with the first locking means to be locked in thesecond position.

According to another aspect of the invention, a cassette loading systemfor a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a magnetic tapecassette which has a sliding closure member openably closing a cut-outin the bottom of the cassette casing, the cassette loading systemcomprises cassette holding means for receiving and holding the magnetictape cassette within a cassette receptacle defined therein, the cassetteholding means being movable among a first position in which the cassettereceptacle is exposed for insertion and removal of the magnetic tapecassette, a second position horizontally offset from the first position,and a third position vertically offset from the second position and atwhich cassette loading is completed; first means, associated with thecassette holding means, for driving the latter between the first andsecond positions; second means, associated with the cassette holdingmeans, for driving the latter between the second and third positions;and timing control means, associated with the first and second means,for selectively enabling and disabling operation of the first and secondmeans during movement of the cassette holding means, the timing controlmeans disabling one of the first and second means while the other of thefirst and second means is in operation.

Preferably, the cassette holding means comprises a horizontally movablecomponent and a vertically movable component, the vertically movablecomponent holding the magnetic tape cassette and cooperating with thehorizontally movable component at the second position for horizontallymoving together with the horizontally movable component. Thehorizontally movable component is associated with the first means to bedriven horizontally between the first and second positions whilecarrying the vertically movable component, and the vertically movablecomponent is associated with the second means to be driven verticallybetween the second and third positions independently of the horizontallymovable component while the horizontally movable component is held inthe second position.

The cassette loading system also comprises a first locking means forlocking the horizontally movable component in the first position, asecond locking means for locking the horizontally movable component inthe second position, a third locking means for locking the verticallymovable member in the second position and a fourth locking means forlocking the vertically movable component in the third position.

The second and third locking means cooperate with each other at thesecond position so that the second locking means locks the horizontallymovable component in the second position while the third locking meansis deactivated to allow vertical movement of the vertically movablecomponent, and the third locking means locks the vertically movablecomponent in the second position while the second locking means isdeactivated to allow horizontal movement of the horizontally movablecomponent with the vertically movable component.

Preferably, the cassette loading system further comprises third means,associated with the cassette holding means, for actuating the slidingclosure member between the closed position and the open position duringmovement of the cassette holding means between the first and secondpositions. The movement of the cassette holding means includes ahorizontal component and a vertical component, the horizontal andvertical components intersecting at a third position, and the thirdmeans is active during horizontal movement of the cassette holding meansbetween the first and third positions. The third means is adapted todrive the magnetic tape cassette between a set position at which themagnetic tape cassette is held within the cassette holding means, and areleased position wherein the magnetic tape cassette rests freely withinthe cassette holding means, the third means actuating the slidingclosure lid between the closed position and the open position duringmovement of the magnetic tape cassette between the set position and thereleased position.

The cassette loading system is prefereably adapted to perform arecording and reproducing operation for the magnetic tape cassette whichincludes a locking means for locking the sliding closure member in theclosed positions, and the third means unlocks the locking means of themagnetic tape cassette while actuating the sliding closure member fromthe closed position to the open position.

In the preferred construction, the first and second means are driven bya common driving means. The driving means includes a driving motor andpower train, the power train including means for selectivelytransmitting driving force to one of the first and second means. Thedriving force transmitting means comprises a first gear associated withthe first means, a second gear is associated with the second means, anda third gear associated with the driving motor to be driven by thelatter and selectively transmit the driving force of the driving motorto one of the first and second gears. The third gear transmits thedriving force to the first gear while the vertically movable componentis locked at the second position, and to the second gear while thehorizontally movable component is locked at the second position.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a cassette loadingsystem for a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for a magnetic tapecassette which has a sliding closure member openably closing a cut-outin the bottom of the cassette casing, the cassette loading systemcomprises cassette holding means for receiving and holding the magnetictape cassette within a cassette receptacle defined therein, the cassetteholding means being movable among a first position in which the cassettereceptacle is exposed to facilitate insertion and removal of themagnetic tape cassette, a second position horizontally offset from thefirst position, and a third position vertically offset from the secondposition and at which cassette loading is completed; first means,associated with the cassette holding means, for driving the latterbetween the first and second positions; second means, associated withthe cassette holding means, for driving the latter between the secondposition and third position; third means, associated with the firstmeans, for selectively actuating the sliding closure member betweenclosed positions and open positions depending upon the cassette holderposition between the first and second positions; and timing controlmeans, associated with the first and second means, for selectivelyenabling and disabling operation of the first and second means duringmovement of the cassette holding means, the timing control meansdisabling one of the first and second means while the other of the firstand second means is in operation.

The cassette holding means is movable in a first horizontal directionand in a second vertical direction, and prevented from moving in thesecond direction during movement in the first direction and from movingin the first direction during movement in the second direction.

The third means is active for actuating the sliding closure memberbetween the closed position and the open position during the movement ofthe cassette holding means in a horizontal direction.

According to a still further aspect of the invention, a combination of amagnetic tape cassette and a cassette loading system in a recordingand/or reproducing apparatus for the magnetic tape cassette wherein:

the magnetic tape cassette includes:

a cassette casing housing a magnetic tape and having a front openingexposing the magnetic tape therethrough, and a cut-out in its floor forreceiving a tape loading mechanism of a recording and/or reproducingapparatus therethrough;

a pivotal closure lid for openably closing the front opening of themagnetic tape cassette;

a sliding closure member movable between a closed position closing thecut-out and an open position opening the cut-out; and

locking means, associated with the sliding closure member, for lockingthe latter in the closed position and in the open position; and

the loading system comprises:

cassette holding means for receiving and holding the magnetic tapecassette within a cassette receptacle defined therein, the cassetteholding means being movable among a first position in which the cassettereceptacle is exposed to facilitate insertion and removal of themagnetic tape cassette, a second position horizontally offset from thefirst position, and a third position vertically offset from the secondposition and at which cassette loading is completed;

first means, associated with the cassette holding means, for driving thelatter between the first and second positions;

second means, associated with the cassette holding means, for drivingthe latter between the second position and third position; and

third means, associated with the first means, for selectively actuatingthe pivotal closure lid and the sliding closure member between closedpositions and open positions depending upon cassette holder positionbetween the first and second positions.

According to a yet further aspect of the invention, a combination of amagnetic tape cassette and a cassette loading system in a recordingand/or reproducing apparatus for the magnetic tape cassette wherein:

the magnetic tape cassette includes:

a cassette casing housing a magnetic tape and having a front openingexposing the magnetic tape therethrough, and a cut-out in its floor forreceiving a tape loading mechanism of a recording and/or reproducingapparatus therethrough;

a pivotal closure lid for openably closing the front opening of themagnetic tape cassette;

a sliding closure member movable between a closed position closing thecut-out and an open position opening the cut-out; and

locking means, associated with the sliding closure member, for lockingthe latter in the closed position and in the open position; and theloading system comprises:

cassette holding means for receiving and holding the magnetic tapecassette within a cassette receptacle defined therein, the cassetteholding means being movable among a first position in which the cassettereceptacle is exposed to facilitate insertion and removal of themagnetic tape cassette, a second position horizontally offset from thefirst position, and a third position vertically offset from the secondposition and at which cassette loading is completed;

first means, associated with the cassette holding means, for driving thelatter between the first and second positions;

second means, associated with the cassette holding means, for drivingthe latter between the second position and the third position;

third means, associated with the first means, for selectively actuatingthe pivotal closure lid and the sliding closure member between closedpositions and open positions depending upon cassette holder positionbetween the first and second positions; and

a timing control means for selectively enabling and disabling operationof the first and second means during movement of the cassette holdingmeans, the timing control means disabling one of the first and secondmeans while the other of the first and second means is in operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood more fully from the detaileddescription given herebelow and from the accompanying drawings of thepreferred embodiment of the invention, which, however, should not betaken to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated butare for explanation and understanding only.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a magnetictape cassette in accordance with the present invention, in which apivotal closure lid and a sliding closure member are in their respectiveclosed positions;

FIG. 2, is a perspective view of the magnetic tape cassette of FIG. 1,viewed from below the cassette, in which the pivotal closure lid and thesliding closure member are in their respective closed positions,corresponding to the position illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the magnetic tape cassette of FIG. 1,viewed from below the cassette, in which the pivotal closure lid and thesliding closure member are in their respective open positions during useof the cassette;

FIG. 4 a bottom view of the magnetic tape cassette with its slidingclosure member in its closed position;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial section taken along line V--V of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of afront-loading recording and/or reproducing apparatus according to thepresent invention, which is designed for recording and reproduction oftape cassettes;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the recording and/or recording apparatus of theinvention, which shows the first embodiment of a magnetic tape cassetteloading system with a cassette holder in the eject position;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the recording and/or reproducing apparatussimilar to FIG. 7, but showing the first embodiment of the loadingsystem in its loading position;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the recording and/or reproducingapparatus following completion of the cassette loading process and fromwhich non-essential components have been removed in order to clearlyshow the positions of the essential components;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a mechanical chassis of the preferredembodiment of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a lock lever of the recording and/orreproducing apparatus of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a cassette holder andassociated mechanism in the first embodiment of the magnetic tapecassette loading system;

FIG. 13 is a section taken along line XIII--XIII of FIG. 7;

FIGS. 14(A) to 14(C) are sections similar to FIG. 13, but showingvarious positions of the cassette holder during cassette loading orejection;

FIG. 15 is a section taken along line XV--XV of FIG. 7;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged section taken along line XVI--XVI of FIG. 7;

FIGS. 17(A) through 17(D) are enlarged sections through the major partof the magnetic tape cassette of FIG. 1, showing the locking andunlocking operations of the sliding closure member; and

FIG. 18 is a plan view of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus ofthe present invention, which includes the second embodiment of amagnetic tape cassette loading system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A magnetic tape cassette recording and/or reproducing apparatusaccording to the present invention will be described herebelow in termsof the preferred embodiments in order to facilitate a betterunderstanding of the present invention. The preferred embodiments of themagnetic tape cassette recording and reproducing apparatus which will bedescribed in detail hereafter are designed to record and reproduce anovel, recently proposed magnetic tape cassette specifically designedfor PCM audio recording and/or reproduction. However, the presentinvention will be applicable not only for that specific PCM audiorecording magnetic tape cassette but also any magnetic tape cassetteswhich have the same or similar cassette structures.

Because of the rather complicated structures of the preferred embodimentof the recording and/or reproducing apparatus, the following disclosurewill be in terms of separate groups of components. Throughout thedisclosure, the word "front" used with respect to the magnetic tapecassette means the side of the cassette having an exposed magnetic tapepath outside of the cassette casing and accessible to the magnetic headsof the recording and reproducing apparatus, and the word "rear" usedwith respect to the magnetic tape cassette means the side opposite fromthe "front side". On the other hand, the word "front" as used withrespect to the recording and/or reproducing apparatus means the side ofthe recording and/or reproducing apparatus toward which a cassetteholder in a magnetic tape cassette loading system moves when themagnetic tape cassette is being ejected, and the word "rear" as usedwith respect to the recording and/or reproducing apparatus means theside opposite from the "front side".

Magnetic Tape Cassette

FIGS. 1 to 4 show a, PCM audio magnetic tape cassette for which thepreferred embodiment of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus isspecifically adapted to perform a recording and/or reproducingoperation.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a magnetic tape cassette 1 generallycomprises a casing 2 including an upper section 3 and a lower section 4which are connected by threaded bolts (not shown) in a per se well-knownmanner to form a single unit. A transparent window plate 8 is built intothe upper surface of the upper section 3. A pair of reel hubs 6 and 7incorporated into the cassette casing 2 rotatably engage a pair of reelshaft insertion apertures 21. The apertures 21 are formed in the lowersection 4 at predetermined positions which establish a suitable spacingbetween the reel hubs 6 and 7. A magnetic tape 5 is wound around thereel hubs 6 and 7.

A pivotal closure lid 9 is rotatably or pivotally attached to the rightand left side walls of the cassette casing near the front end of thetape cassette 1. When the pivotal closure lid 9 is pivoted away from thefront surface of the tape cassette, the magnetic tape 5 is exposed, asshown in FIG. 3. An essentially rectangular cut out 4a is formed in thefront end of the lower section 4. When the magnetic tape cassette 1 isinserted into a PCM recorder which will be briefly discussed later, atape guide system or a device constituting part of a tape retainingmechanism (not shown) is inserted into the cut-out portion 4a and pullsout some of the tape 5 for loading onto a rotary head of the PCMrecorder. A sliding closure member 11 engages the lower section 4 andcovers and exposes the cut-out portion 4a as it slides back and forth.

While the tape cassette 1 is not in use, the pivotal closure lid 9 islocated opposite a front opening formed in the front-surface of thecasing 2 to cover the latter. At the same time, the sliding closure 11is in its forwardly-shifted position in which it covers the cut-outportion 4a of the lower section 4 and thus prevents the tape guidesystem from reaching into the tape cassette 1 for the tape, as shown inFIG. 2. The closure lid 9 can pivot away from the front surface of thecassette 1 to expose the magnetic tape 5, and the sliding closure member11 can move to the rear to expose the cut-out portion 4a so that thetape guide system can reach into the cut-out portion 4a to draw some ofthe magnetic tape 5 out of the cassette casing for loading onto a rotarydrum for recording or playback. Thereafter, when the recording orplayback is over and the tape cassette 1 is returned to the stand-bystate, the pivotal closure lid and the sliding closure member arereturned to the aforementioned closed positions. Throughout the rest ofthis document, the positions of the pivotal closure lid 9 and thesliding closure 11 in which they cover the front opening and the cut-outportion 4a respectively will be referred to as a "closed position" andthe position of the lid 9 and the sliding closure 11 in which theyexpose the front opening and the cut-out portion 4a will be referred toas an "open position".

The cassette casing 2 also has a pair of integrally formed tape guidecolumns at the left- and right-hand ends of the front edge of the lowersection 4, as shown in FIG. 3. The magnetic tape 5 is stretched betweenand around the tape guide columns so as to follow a predetermined taperun or path along the front edge of the tape cassette 1 and across thefront opening over the rotary head.

The cut-out portion 4a of the lower section 4 extends over apredetermined width so as to expose the rear surface of the magnetictape 5 stretched between the tape guide columns. During recording orreproduction, a device constituting part of the tape actuating system ortape guide system projects into the cut-out portion 4a and draws out asection of the magnetic tape 5. The tape actuating system is part of thePCM recorder.

The pivotal closure lid 9 is elongated along the major dimension of thefront opening and has arms 9a and 9b projecting from its opposite endswhich pivotably attach the lid 9 to the front of the cassette casing 2by means of pivot shafts (not shown). Thus, the pivotal closure lid 9can be pivoted to selectively cover and expose the front opening of thecassette casing 1. The closure lid 9 also comprises a plate 9c which iselongated in the direction of the opening in the cassette casing 2 andcovers the entire length of the front of the cassette casing 1. When theclosure lid 9 is rotated to the closed position to cover the front ofthe cassette casing 1, the arms 9a and 9b lie flush with the contours ofthe upper section 3 as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. When the closure lid9 is in this position, the sliding closure 11 is held in its forwardposition under the arms 9a and 9b as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 by meansdescribed later. The rotary shafts about which the lid 9 pivots areapproximately centered on the inner surfaces of the respective arms 9aand 9b. Cut-away portions 24 are formed by cutting small grooves intothe lower edge of the plate 9c toward the left and right extremes of thecut-out portion 4a of the lower section 4.

The sliding closure member 11 has a flattened U-shaped configuration andis so mounted on the lower section 4 of the cassette casing 2 that itcan slide back and forth parallel to the lower surface of the lowercassette section 4. Apertures 20 respectively corresponding to the reelshaft insertion apertures 21 are formed in the sliding closure member 11in such positions that after the sliding closure member 11 slides allthe way backwards to expose the cut-out portion 4a, the apertures 20 arerespectively aligned with the reel shaft insertion apertures 21.

The sliding closure member 11 comprises a flat plate 10 which liesparallel to the lower surface of the lower section 4 and side plates 12along the left and right sides of the flat plate 10 which lie parallelto the outer surfaces of the left and right side walls of the lowersection 4. Flanges (not clearly shown) are formed by bending the upperends of the side plates 12 inwardly. The flanges are restrainedvertically but not horizontally between the side walls of the upper andlower sections 3 and 4 after the casing 2 is assembled.

Contact pieces 15 extend upwards perpendicularly from the flat plate 10at the front of the plate at positions which correspond to the cut-awayportions 24 of the closure lid 9. The contact pieces 15 enable therecording reproducing apparatus to slide the closure 11 to the rear inpreparation for opening the cassette 1 in a manner described later.

A hook 19 is formed on the front edge of the flat plate 10. The hook 19is centered between the contact pieces 15. One leg 18b of a torsionspring 28, the coil of which is housed in the front portion of the lowersection 3, engages the hook 19. The torsion spring exerts a forwardbiasing force on the sliding closure member 11. When the sliding closuremember 11 is in its open position, as shown in FIG., the torsion spring18 is stressed and exerts a counteracting force biasing the slidingclosure member 11 toward its closed position.

The sliding closure member 11 is also formed with a circular hole 26 anda semicircular cut-out 25. The semicircular cut-out 25 is located at thefront end of the sliding closure member 11. A thin groove 22 is formedon the lower surface; of the sliding closure member 11 in the regionwhere the hole 26 and the cut-out 25 are formed. The groove 22 has atapered end opening onto the front end of the sliding closure member 11.The hole 26 and the cut-out 25 are so arranged as to engage a lockingprojection or head 29 of a locking lever 27 which is integrally formedwith the lower section 4. As will be appreciated, the locking lever 27has a resilient lever section 27b which is thinner than the rest of thelower section for added flexibility. The locking head 29 projectsdownwardly from the free end of the locking lever 27b. Along both sidesof the locking lever 27, elongated slots 28 separate the locking leversection 27b from the lower section 4. This enhances the flexibility ofthe locking lever 27 for freer move of its free end, as shown in FIG. 5.The locking head 29 has a rounded top which extends downwardly throughthe hole 26 or the cut-out 25. The height H of the locking head 29 isselected so that the top of the head 29 can lie flush with the lowersurface of the sliding closure member within the groove 22 and so thatthe top of the head can rest atop the lower surface of the slidingclosure member 11.

The lower section 4 of the casing is formed with a pair of guide grooves14 extending along each of the side walls parallel to each other and tostepped rests. Neither the rests nor the guide grooves 14 are as deep asthe arms 9a and 9b of the closure lid 9 are thick. The stepped restsreceive the upper edges 11g of the sliding closure 11. Also, the guidegroove 14 slidably receives inwardly depressed indentations formed inthe side plates 12 of the sliding closure 11. Sliding engagement betweenthe rests and the edges and between the guide grooves 14 and theindentations 13 guides sliding movement of the sliding closure 11 withrespect to the cut-out portion 4a along the side walls of the lowersection 4.

Positioning holes are formed through the bottom of the lower section 4directly under the tape guide columns respectively.

In the shown construction, when the tape cassette 1 is not in use, theclosure lid 9 is in its closed position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to coverthe front opening. At the same time, the sliding closure member 11 is inits closed position (FIGS. 1 and 2), thus covering the cut-out 4a. Inthis case, the locking head 29 of the locking lever 27 is in engagementwith the hole 26 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. At the closed position, theupper edge of the sliding closure member 11 abuts the lower edge of thearms 9a and so restricts pivotal movement of the pivotal closure lid 9.Therefore, the pivotal closure lid 9 and the sliding closure member 11are held at the closed positions.

It should be appreciated that, although a specific magnetic tapecassette structure has been disclosed hereabove to facilitate betterunderstanding of the preferred embodiment of the recording and/orreproducing apparatus, this specific magnetic tape cassette structure isnot essential to the present invention. The preferred embodiment of therecording and/or reproducing apparatus is applicable to various kinds ofthe magnetic tape cassette, such as those disclosed in the U.S. Patentapplication Ser. Nos. 678,813 filed on Dec. 6, 1984, 704,943 filed onFeb. 25, 1985, and 711,521 filed on Mar. 14, 1985, now U.S. Pat. No.4,683,510, which are respectively correspond to the British Patent FirstPublications Nos. 2,152,009 and 2,155,905, and the European Patent FirstPublication No. 0160822, which are all assigned to the assignee of thepresent invention. The contents of the aforementioned publications arehereby incorporated by reference for the sake of disclosure. Also, theU.S. patent application Ser. No. 649,725 filed on Sept. 12, 1984 andassigned to the assignee of the present invention discloses a slidingclosure member which holds the pivotal closure lid in its closedposition while itself in the closed position. The European Patent FirstPublication No. 0135195 corresponds to the aforementioned U.S. patentapplication. The content of the U.S. patent application are herebyincorporated by reference for the sake of disclosure.

Recording and/or Reproducing Apparatus

Referring now to FIGS. 6 to 16, the first embodiment of a front-loadingrecording and/or reproducing apparatus, which may be designed for PCMrecording and/or reproduction, is generally represented by the referencenumeral 32. The recording and/or reproducing apparatus 32 has a housing33. As shown in FIG. 6, a front panel 33of the housing 33 is formed witha cassette receptacle opening 34 through which a cassette holder 83(described in detail later) moves between an eject position in which itprojects from the front panel 33and a retracted position in which themagnetic tape cassette 1 resides within the housing 33.

Although not clearly shown in the accompanying drawings, the front panel33a is provided with various manually operable switches, such as a powerswitch, mode selector switches, an eject switch and so forth.

In the preferred embodiment of the recording and/or reproducingapparatus, the magnetic tape cassette 1 of FIGS. 1 to 5 can be put onthe cassette holder 83 when the latter is in its eject position. Simplyputting the magnetic tape cassette 1 on the cassette holder 83automatically initiates a loading operation in which the lockingengagement between the pivotal closure lid 9 and the sliding closuremember 11 is released, and those element are moved to their respectiveopen positions and locked in their open positions. Specifically, afterthe magnetic tape cassette 1 is placed on the cassette holder 83, thelatter is automatically drawn into the apparatus housing 33 to theloading position. At first, the cassette holder 83 is moved horizontallyand backwards. During this movement, the magnetic tape cassette 1 ismoved horizontally with respect to the cassette holder, which releasesthe locking engagement between the pivotal closure lid and the slidingclosure member of the magnetic tape cassette and moves them to theirrespective open positions. Then, the cassette holder 83 is lowered toload the magnetic tape cassette into the recording and/or reproducingapparatus.

Each component of the preferred embodiment of the recording and/orreproducing apparatus will be described herebelow.

BASE PLATE (FIGS. 7, 8, 10 and 13 to 15)

A base plate of the preferred embodiment of the recording and/orreproducing apparatus is generally represented by the reference numeral35. The base plate 35 is housed within the apparatus housing 33. Thebase plate 35 is generally rectangular but may be square. The base plate35 is integrally formed with a pair of lateral supporting strips 35aextending along its front edge.

The base plate 35 is formed with a laterally elongated opening 36 toadmit reel shafts 37 and 38 which are rotatably supported on a reel base(not shown). As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the reel shafts 37 and 38 arerespectively provided with heads 37a and 38a engagable with thecorresponding reel hubs 6 and 7 of the magnetic tape cassette 1. Thereel shafts 37 and 38 with the heads 37a and 38a extend through theelongated opening 36 until the heads project above the base plate 35.

A rotary head drum 39 is mounted near the rear edge of the base plate35, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. In the shown embodiment, the rotaryhead drum 39 is designed for PCM audio recording and/or reproduction.

A pair of positioning pins 40 and 41 extend upwards from the base plate35. The positioning pins 40 and 41 lie rearward of the elongated opening36 and are spaced apart. The positioning pins 40 and 41 are positionedso as to oppose and engage positioning holes formed in the lower section4 of the magnetic tape cassette, as will be described later.

A contact strip 42 is fixed to the front edge of the base plate 35 at apoint to the right of the center of the base plate, as viewed in FIG. 7.The contact strip 42 has a horizontal section 42a and a vertical section42b. The horizontal section 42a is fixedly secured to the upper surfaceof the front edge of the base plate 35 by means of fastening screws orbolts. The vertical section 42b extends above the horizontal section 42aand has a forward-facing contact face. The contact face of the verticalsection 42b is intended to abut a cassette pusher lever 178 which willbe described later, in order to cause pivotal movement of the cassettepusher lever 178 during cassette loading.

It should be noted that a tape drive mechanism, a tape loading mechanismwhich is adapted to wrap and unwrap the magnetic tape 5 onto and fromthe rotary head drum 39, and so forth are mounted on the base plate 35.However, in order to simplify the drawings and avoid unnecessaryconfusion, those mechanisms which are not directly related to thesubject matter of the present invention have been left out of thedrawings and disclosure.

In practice, the preferred embodiment of the recording and/orreproducing apparatus according to the invention employs a tape loadingmechanism as disclosed in the co-pending U.S. patent application Ser.No. 827,640, filed on Feb. 10, 1986, and the European Patent ApplicationNo. 86 301 040.1, filed on Feb. 14, 1986, which European PatentApplication No. corresponds to the aforementioned U.S. patemtapplication. Both of the above-identified co-pending applications havebeen assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The contents ofthe aforementioned co-pending applications are hereby incorporated byreference for the sake of disclosure.

CASSETTE LOADING MECHANISM (FIGS. 7 and 9 to 15)

A cassette loading mechanism is generally represented by the referencenumeral 43. The cassette loading mechanism 43 comprises the cassetteholder 84 which receives the magnetic tape cassette 1 and carries itbetween the aforementioned eject and loading positions, a sliding frame65 supporting the cassette holder so as to be free to move vertically,the sliding frame 65 itself being free to move longitudinally relativeto the apparatus housing 33, a mechanical chassis 44 movably mountingthe sliding frame, and a drive mechanism for the cassette loadingmechanism. The cassette loading mechanism 43 also comprises a cassettepushing mechanism for pushing the cassette into the apparatus so as toopen the pivotal closure lid 9 and the sliding closure member 11 uponloading and out of the apparatus for closing the pivotal closure lid andthe sliding closure member upon ejecting.

Each component of the cassette loading mechanism will be describedherebelow in a corresponding sub-section.

MECHANICAL CHASSIS (FIGS. 7, 9 to 11 and 14 to 16)

The mechanical chassis 44 is generally rectangular. The mechanical;chassis 44 has a base section 45 forming the rear half thereof. A pairof longitudinal strip sections 46 extend longitudinally from oppositesides of the front edge of the base section 45. The two longitudinalstrip sections 46 are essentially parallel to each other. As best shownin FIG. 10, the front ends of the longitudinal strip sections 46 arebent downward until the bent sections lie perpendicular to thehorizontal plane of the remaining sections. A transverse front end stripsection 47 is formed integrally with the vertically bent front ends ofthe longitudinal strip sections 46. The transverse section 47 thusconnects the two bent front end sections of the longitudinal stripsections 46. The transverse section 47 is coplanar with the bent frontend sections of the longitudinal strip sections 46.

A plurality of cylindrical supports 48 are interposed between thesupport strips 35a of the base plate 35 and the horizontal portion ofthe longitudinal strip sections 46, and between the base plate 35 andthe base section 45 of the mechanical chassis 44. The cylindricalsupports 48 serve to support the mechanical chassis 44 above the baseplate 35 while holding them essentially parallel. The cylindricalsupports 48 also serve as spacers maintaining a predetermined clearancebetween the mechanical chassis 44 and the base plate 35.

L-shaped brackets 49 and 50 are mounted near the front ends of thelongitudinal strip sections 46. The brackets 49 and 50 are secured ontothe upper horizontal surfaces of the longitudinal strip sections 46 bymeans of fastening screws. The brackets 49 and 50 respectively havevertical sections 49a and 50a. As will be seen from FIG. 10, thevertical section 49a. extends higher than the vertical section 50a.

A vertical tab 51 on the right-hand edge and slightly frontward of therear edge of the mechanical chassis 44 opposes the vertical section 49a.Similarly, the left-hand corner of the rear edge of the mechanicalchassis 44 is bent upwardly to form a vertical tab 52. The tabs 51 and52 are longitudinally aligned with the vertical sections 49a and 50a ofthe brackets 49 and 50 respectively. Essentially cylindrical guide rails53 and 54 extend between respective pairs of the vertical tabs and thevertical sections 49a, 51, and 50a, 52. These guide rails 53 and 54allow the sliding frame 65 to slide longitudinally. The guide rails 53and 54 extend parallel to each other and to the upper horizontal planeof the mechanical chassis 44. A wire driver gear 55 is suspended beneaththe mechanical chassis 44 by means of a stationary shaft 57 whichextends downwards from the lower surface of the rear-right corner of thebase section 45. The wire driver gear 55 is rotatable about thestationary shaft 57. A wire pulley 56 is integrally formed with the wiredriver gear 55 for rotation therewith.

A wire pulley 58 is mounted below and near the front end of theright-hand longitudinal strip section 46. The wire pulley 58 isrotatably supported by a stationary pulley shaft 59 extending from thelower surface of the right-hand longitudinal strip section 46. As willbe seen from FIGS. 6 and 7, the wire pulley 58 is of smaller diameterthan the wire pulley 56 integrally formed with the wire driver gear 55.

A guide pulley 60 is suspended beneath the mechanical chassis 44. Theguide pulley 60 is positioned between the wire pulleys 56 and 58 nearthe juncture of the right-hand longitudinal strip section 46 and thebase section 45. The guide pulley 60 is rotatably supported by a pulleyshaft 61 which extends downward from the mechanical chassis 44. A drivewire 81 is stretched between the wire pulleys 56 and 58 via the guidepulley 60.

An essentially L-shaped strip 62 extends downwards from the base section45 of the mechanical chassis 44. The strip 62 is formed by cuttingaround the corresponding section of the base section 45 and bending itinto an L-shape with its horizontal section pointing transversely.

A cut-out 63 is formed slightly to the left of the center of the frontedge of the base section 45, as best shown in FIG. 10. An opening 64 ispasses through the base section 45 near the cut-out 63.

The mechanical chassis 44 constructed as set forth above is receivedwithin the apparatus housing 33. When the mechanical chassis 44 is setwithin the housing 33, the vertical front face of the transverse stripsection 47 opposes the back surface of the front panel 33a. In addition,the upper edge of the transverse strip section 47 lies in essentiallythe same horizontal plane as the lower edge of the cassette receptacleopening 34.

SLIDING FRAME (FIGS. 7, 9, 10, 13 to 15)

The sliding frame 65 is supported by the guide rails 53 and 54 describedabove. The sliding frame 65 is free to move longitudinally along theguide rails 53 and 54.

The sliding frame 65 has a pair of side walls 66 and 67. The side walls66 and 67 are longitudinally elongated and have essentially the sameconfiguration. However, the left-hand side wall 67 is slightly longerthan the right-hand side wall 66. The side walls 66 and 67 have matchingfront end sections which lie in a lower plane than the rest of the sidewall length. The front end sections are connected to the rest of theside walls 66 and 67 by dog-legs, as best shown in FIG. 12. Pairs oftabs 68 extend horizontally and laterally inward from the lower edges ofthe front end sections.

The sliding frame 65 also has a horizontal front plate 69. The lateraledges of the front plate 69 are secured to the tabs 68 of the side-walls66 and 67 by means of fastening screws. The rear edge of the front plate69 has a cut-out 70 near its left-hand edge. A pivot pin 71 protrudesfrom the upper surface of the front plate 69 near the cut-out 70 butshifted slightly toward the center. The pivot pin 71 pivotably supportscassette pusher lever 178 which will be described later.

The front plate 69 also has threaded holes 72 near both lateral edges.

Supporting strips 73 extend inward from the upper edges of the sidewalls 66 and 67. The supporting strips 73 lie horizontally and slightlyrearward of the longitudinal center of the side walls. Threaded holes 74pass through the supporting strips 73.

A lateral cross-member 75 is secured at both ends to the rear parts ofthe supporting strips 73. A U-shaped cut-out 76 is centered in the frontedge of the cross-member 75.

A guide block 77 is secured to the outer surface of the side wall 66 bymeans of fastening screws. The guide block 77 is positioned at the rearend of the side wall 66 and has a pair of guide rail grippers 77b withoutward-facing U-shaped grooves 77a. The U-shaped grooves 77a canslidingly engage the aforementioned guide rail 53 of the mechanicalchassis to facilitate sliding movement. Similarly, a guide block 78 isfixed to the outer surface of the side wall 67 by at its rear end meansof fastening screws. The guide block 78 has a pair of outward extensions78b, through which guide rail receiving holes 78a are formed. Theaforementioned guide rail 54 of the mechanical chassis passes throughthe holes 78a to allow longitudinal sliding movement of the latter. Thevertical sections 49a and 50a of the brackets 49 and 50 which supportthe front ends of the guide rails 53 and 54 as set forth above serve asstoppers limiting frontward movement of the guide blocks 77 and 78.Similarly, the vertical tabs 51 and 52 of the mechanical chassis, whichsupport the rear ends of the guide rails 53 and 54 as set forth aboveserve as stoppers limiting rearward movement of the guide blocks 77 and78.

It should be noted that the position of the sliding frame 65 at whichthe guide blocks 77 and 78 are in contact with the vertical sections 49aand 50a of the brackets 49 and 50, will hereafter be referred to as the"drawn-out position". The position of the sliding frame 65 at which theguide blocks 77 and 78 are in contact with the vertical tabs 51 and 52will hereafter be referred to as the "drawn-in position". At the drawnout position, the sliding frame 65 protrudes from the apparatus housing33 through the cassette receptacle opening 34 of the front panel 33a. Atthe drawn in position, the sliding frame 65 resides fully within theapparatus housing.

The position of the cut-out 70 in the front plate 69 of the slidingframe 65 is laterally opposed to the position of the contact strip 42 ofthe base plate 35. When the sliding frame 65 is in the drawn inposition, the peripheral edge of the cut-out 70 is separated from thecontact strip 42.

A generally L-shaped plate 79 is fixed to the upper surface of the guideblock 78. The plate 79 has an essentially horizontal section secured tothe guide block 78 by means of one or more fastening screws, and avertical section extending downward from the outwardly protruding freeend of the horizontal section. Generally, the plate 79 passes over theguide block 78. The vertical section of the plate 79 has a flat surfaceopposing the side wall 67. A pin 80 protrudes from the vertical sectionof the plate 79 toward the side wall 67. The pin 80 is designed toanchor the ends of a drive wire 81 used to drive the sliding framelongitudinally along the guide rails 53 and 54.

WIRE (FIGS. 7, 9, 10 and 15)

The drive wire 81 has loops 81a and 81b at both ends. The loop 81aengages the pin 80 of the L-shaped plate 79. The drive wire 81 extendsrearward from the loop 81a and is wound around the wire pulley 56 about1 and half turns. From the wire pulley 56, the drive wire 81 extendsfrontwards via the guide pulley 60 and is wound another 1 and half turnsaround the wire pulley 58. Then, the drive wire 81 again extendsrearwards and the loop 81b is attached to the pin 80 via a limiterspring 82. The limiter spring 82 is designed to absorb excessive tensionapplied to the drive wire.

When the sliding frame 65 is to move from the drawn in position to thedrawn out position, the wire pulley 56 is driven clockwise as viewed inFIG. 7 by means of the wire driver gear 55. The drive wire 81 is thusdriven so as to pull the sliding frame 65 forward. This drivingdirections of the wire driver gear 55, the wire pulley 56 and the drivewire 81 will hereafter be referred to as "forward driving direction". Onthe other hand, in order to drive the sliding frame 65 from the drawnout position to the drawn in position, the wire pulley 56 with the wiredriver gear 55 are driven counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 7.According to the drive wire 81 is driven to drive the sliding frame 65rearward. This driving direction of the wire driver gear 55, the wirepulley 56 and the drive wire 81 will hereafter be referred to as"backward driving direction".

CASSETTE HOLDER (FIGS. 7 to 9, 12 to 14, 16, 17(A) and 17(B))

The cassette holder 83 is generally in the form of a rectangular boxwith its elongated sides lying in the lateral direction of the apparatus32. The lateral width of the cassette holder 83 is slightly less thanthe distance between the side walls 66 and 67 of the sliding frame 65.The cassette holder 83 has an essentially rectangular, laterallyelongated bottom plate 84. Side walls 85 and 86 extend upward from thelateral edges of the bottom plate 84. The bottom plate 84 has a pair ofthrough openings 87 which are spaced apart at positions corresponding tothe reel shaft insertion apertures 21 of the magnetic tape cassette 1.

The bottom plate 84 also has a cut-out 88 at the center of its rear edgeand rearward projecting strips 89 at the lateral ends of the cut-out 88.Each strip 89 has an upward extending contact piece 90. The contactpieces 90 serve as dogs for pushing the sliding closure member 11 of themagnetic tape cassette as the sliding closure member 11 is driven fromthe closed position to the open position.

A longitudinally elongated projection 91 is formed on the bottom plate84. The projection 91 projects upwards from the plane of the bottomplate 84. The projection 91 is disposed at a lateral positioncorresponding to the groove 22 of the sliding closure member 11 of themagnetic tape cassette 1 discussed above and its height essentiallymatches the depth of the groove 22. The front and rear ends 91a and 91bof the projection 91 taper down toward the plane of the plate 84. Theprojection 91 serves to release the locking engagement between theaforementioned locking head 29 of the locking lever 27 and the cut-out25 or the hole 26 of the sliding closure member 11 when the magnetictape cassette 1 moves longitudinally relative to the cassette holder 83.

It should be appreciated that the projection 91 may be formed on thebottom plate 84 by pressing. However, if necessary, the projection 91can be formed independently of the bottom plate and secured to thebottom plate at the proper position thereafter. In the later case, itwould be convenient to mold the projection out of a synthetic resin.

The bottom plate 84 of the cassette holder 83 also has an essentiallyU-shaped recess 92 at the center of its front edge. The side walls 85and 86 have longitudinal guide openings 93 and 94. The guide openings 93and 94 are located near the rear ends of the side walls 85 and 86respectively.

CASSETTE HOLDER SUPPORTING ARM (FIGS. 8, 9, 12 to 14)

Two pairs of arms 95, 96, 97 and 98 are associated with the cassetteholder 83 set forth above so that they can support the cassette holderin a vertically movable fashion. The arms 95 and 96 are disposed to theright of the cassette holder 83 and the arms 97 and 98 are arranged tothe left. The arms 95, 96, 97 and 98 have circular holes 95a, 96a, 97aand 98a through their centers. The circular openings 95a and 96a of onepair of the arms 95 and 96 are aligned with each other. Similarly, thecircular openings 97a and 98a of the arms 97 and 98 are aligned witheach other. Each pair of arms 95, 96 and 97, 98 is pivotably connectedby means of a connecting pin 99 and 100 which extends through thecircular openings 95a, 96a, and 97a, 98a, respectively.

The aforementioned side walls 66 and 67 of the sliding frame 65 havelongitudinal guide openings 101 and 102. Movable pins 103 and 104 extendthrough respectively corresponding guide openings 101 and 102, and soare free to slide longitudinally along the guide openings. Fixed pins105 and 106 extend laterally outward from the front ends of the sidewalls 85 and 86 of the cassette holder 83. The arms 95 and 96 havethrough holes 95b, 95c and 96b and 96c at either longitudinal end.Similarly, the arms 97 and 98 have through holes 97b, 97c and 98b, 98cat either longitudinal end. The movable pins 103 and 104 respectivelyengage the through holes 95c and 97c of the arms 95 and 97. On the otherhand, the fixed pins 105 and 106 engage the through holes 95b and 97b.Therefore, the fixed pins 105 and 106 form pivots for the arms 95 and97.

Movable pins 107 and 108 extend through the guide openings 93 and 94 inthe side walls 85 and 86 of the cassette holder 83. The movable pins 107and 108 are thus free to move along the guide openings 93 and 94. Themovable pins 107 and 108 engage the through holes 96c and 98c of thearms 96 and 98. The through holes 96b and 98b in the other ends of thearms 96 and 98 are pivotally engaged with fixed pins 109 and 110extending from the side walls 66 and 67 of the sliding frame 65.Therefore, the arms 96 and 98 are pivotable about the fixed pins 109 and110.

With the supporting structure set forth above, the cassette holder 83 issupported above the sliding frame 65 in a vertically movable fashion.The vertical movement of the cassette holder 83 with respect to thesliding frame 65 is actuated by pivotal movement of each pair of arms95, 96 and 97, 98 about the pivot pins 99 and 100, as shown in FIGS.14(B) and 14(C).

MECHANISM FOR VERTICALLY ACTUATING CASSETTE HOLDER (FIGS. 7, 8 to 10 and12 to 14(C))

Arm support pins 111 extend from the mutually opposing inner surfaces ofthe side walls 66 and 67 of the sliding frame 65. The arm support pins111 are longitudinally located at positions corresponding to thesupporting strips 73. One end of a bias spring 112 engages one of thearm support pins 111 protruded from the side wall 66 of the slidingframe. The other end of the bias spring 112 engages the movable pin 103in order to bias the latter rearward, as shown in FIG. 9.

When the biasing force exerted on the rear ends of the arms 95 and 97,at which the circular openings 95c and 97c are formed, the rear ends ofthe arms 95 and 97 shift toward the front ends of the arms 96 and 98, atwhich the circular holes 96b and 98b are formed. Thus, the distancebetween the rear ends of the arms 95 and 97 and the front ends of thearms 96 and 98 is reduced. This causes frontward and downward shiftingof the pivot points between the arms 95, 96 and 97, 98. As a result,since the front ends of the arms 96 and 98 and the rear ends of the arms95 and 97 are connected to the sliding frame 65, the cassette holder 83is shifted downwardly toward the downwardly shifted position. On theother hand, when the rear end of the arm 95c is moved backwardly by thebias spring 112, the relative distance between the pin 103 and the pin109 expands. This causes rearward and upward shifting of the pivot pointat which the arms 95 and 96 are pivotally connected by means of thepivot pin 99. This results in a rearward shifting of the rear end of thearm 96, at which the circular opening 96c is formed. Therefore, themovable pin 107 engaging the guide opening 93 of the side wall 85 of thecassette holder 83 is shifted rearwardly along the guide opening 93.

Since the arms 95 and 96 pivot about the pivot pin 99, the frontwardmovement of the front end of the arm 95 includes a component of movementcausing an upward shift. Therefore, the fixed pin 105 fixed to the sidewall 85 of the cassette holder 83 is shifted upward during frontwardmovement of the front end of the arm 95. Similarly, the rearwardmovement of the rear end of the arm 96 includes a component of movementcausing an upward shift. Therefore, the movable pin 107, when shiftedrearward due to rearward movement of the rear end of the arm 96, alsoshifts upward. Therefore, the cassette holder 83 shifts upward. Thisrelative pivotal movement of the arms 95 and 96 and shifting of thecassette holder 83 is limited by the positions of the rear end of theelongated guide openings 93 and 101. At the uppermost position of thecassette holder, the cassette holder 83 opposes the sliding frame 65 asillustrated in FIG. 14(A). This cassette holder position will behereafter referred to as the "upward shifted position".

The cassette holder 83 is vertically movable between the aforementionedupward shifted position and a downward shifted position, at which thecassette holder is positioned as shown in FIG. 14(B). Movement of thecassette holder 83 from the upward shifted position to the downwardshifted position is realized by an actuation mechanism which will bedescribed later. When the actuation mechanism is activated, the frontend of the arm 95 and the rear end of the arm 96 are pivotally shiftedto approach toward each other. Specifically, this pivotal movement ofthe arm 95 includes a component of movement causing a downward shift atthe front end. Likewise, the pivotal movement of the arm 96 includes acomponent of movement causing a downward shift at the rear end. Sinceboth of the front end of the arm 95 and the rear end of the arm 96 areconnected to the cassette holder 83 via the pins 105 and 107, thisdownward movement of the front end of arm 95 and the rear end of the arm96 causes downward movement of the cassette holder 83. The magnitude ofdownward shift of the cassette holder 83 is determined by the positionof the front ends of the guide openings 93 and 101. The downward shiftedposition referred to in the disclosure represents the lowermost cassetteholder position determined by the positions of the front ends of theguide openings.

The aforementioned actuation mechanism comprises a pair of actuationlevers 113 disposed outside of each of the side walls 66 and 67 of thesliding frame 65. The actuation levers 113 are of identicalconfiguration. Each actuation lever 113 has an essentially verticalsection 113a and an essentially horizontal section 113b. The verticalsection 113a extends downward from the rear end of the horizontalsection 113b. The lower end of the vertical section 13a has a circularhole pivotally engaging the support pin 111. At the juncture of thevertical section 113a and the horizontal section 113b, the actuationlever 113 is connected to one end of a connection rod 114. Theconnection rod 114 serves to coordinate the movements of the actuationlevers 113.

The front end of the horizontal section 113b of each of the actuationlevers 113 has an essentially U-shaped recess 115. The recesses 115engage the fixed pins 105 and 106 fixed to the side walls 85 and 86 ofthe cassette holder 83. It will be appreciated that the recesses 115 candisengage from the corresponding pins 105 and 106.

The actuation levers 113 serve to actuate the arms 95 and 96 and thearms 97 and 98 for upward and downward shifting of the cassette holder83. The actuation levers 113 are associated with the sliding frame 65 soas to be actuated according to the longitudinal position of the slidingframe.

A flat, elongated slider 116 opposes the inner surface of the side wall67 of the sliding frame 65. The slider 116 generally comprises alongitudinal plate with an inwardly bent rear end 117 and an essentiallyU-shaped recess 118 in its front end. The slider 116 also has alongitudinal elongated hole 119 near the inwardly bent rear end 117.

The recess 118 at the front end of the slider 116 is releasablyengageable with the movable pin 104 which extends through the guideopening 102 of the side wall 67 described above. On the other hand, aguide pin 120 extends through the longitudinal hole 119. The guide pin120 extends from the inner surface of the side wall 67 of the slidingframe 65 and engages the longitudinal hole 119 so as to be free to movetherealong.

The slider 116 is in its rearmost position when the cassette holder 83is in the upward shifted position and is at rest while the cassetteholder 83 is at rest in the upward shifted position. At this time, theguide pin 120 remains in contact with the front edge of the elongatedhole 119. On the other hand, as the cassette holder 83 shifts downwardtoward the downward shifted position, the slider 116 moves frontwardlyby a frontward shifting force exerted against its inwardly bent rear end117. The mechanism for exerting this frontward shifting force will bedescribed later.

The mechanism for vertically actuating the cassette holder also includesa rack plate 121 mounted near the rear end of the mechanical chassis 44(FIG. 10). The rack plate 121 is generally longitudinally elongated andhas guide slots 122 near its front and rear ends. The guide slots 122extend longitudinally so as to guide longitudinal movement of the rackplate 121 which engages guide pins 127 extending vertically from theupper surface of the mechanical chassis 44. The rack plate 121 also hasa longitudinal guide opening 123 between the guide slots 122. The frontend of the guide opening 123 extends perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis of the major section thereof. This bent end of the guide opening123 serves as a locking recess 123a. The guide opening 123 engages a pin154 which will be described later.

The rack plate 121 has rack teeth 124 along its right-hand edge and anessentially lateral arm 125 on the other edge. The free end of the arm125 has a vertical pusher member 126. The pusher member 126 is generallycylindrical and abuts the aforementioned inwardly bent rear end 117 ofthe slider 116.

The rack plate 121 is normally positioned such that the front ends ofthe guide slots 122 are in contact with the guide pins 127. The rackplate 121 is held in this position until the sliding frame 65 reachesthe aforementioned drawn-in position. This rack plate position will behereafter referred to as the "rearward shifted position".

When the sliding frame 65 reaches the drawn-in position, the rack plate121 is driven frontward by a driving mechanism which will be describedlater. When the sliding frame 65 reaches the drawn in position, thepusher member 126 at the free end of the arm 125 abuts the inwardly bentrear end 117 of the slider 116 as shown in FIG. 9.

As mentioned above, since the rack plate 121 is then driven toward thefront, the pusher member 126 of the arm 125 pushes the inwardly bentrear end of the slider 116 frontward. Thus, the slider 116 and themovable pin 104 are shifted frontward. Therefore, the arm 97 is pivotedabout the pivot pin 100 so that its rear end approaches the front end ofthe arm 98. The cassette holder 83 is thus shifted downward to thedownward shifted position against the biasing force of the spring 112.

The frontward movement of the slider 116 is limited by the length of theelongated opening 119. Specifically, at the frontward shifted position,the rear end of the elongated opening 119 of the slider 116 comes intocontact with the guide pin 120 also to prevent frontward movement. Thisrearward shifted position of the slider 116 corresponds to the downwardshifted position of the cassette holder 83.

At this downward shifted position of the cassette holder 83, the reelshafts 37 and 38 with the heads 37a and 38a extend upward through theopenings 87 of the cassette holder. Thus, cassette loading is completed.

When the rack plate 121 is driven rearward while the cassette holder 83is in the downward shifted position, the frontward biasing force exertedon the movable pin 104 is released. As a result, the arms 95, 96 and 97,98 are pivoted so as to allow the cassette holder 83 to be shifted fromthe downward shifted position to the upward shifted position by thebiasing force of the spring 112.

DRIVING MECHANISM (FIGS. 7, 8 and 10)

A driving motor 128 is mounted on the lower surface of the mechanicalchassis 44. The driving motor 128 has a drive shaft 128a extendingupwardly through the mechanical chassis 44. A drive pulley 129 ispositioned above the upper surface of the mechanical chassis 44 andsecured to the upper end of the drive shaft 128a of the driving motor128. Therefore, the drive pulley 129 is driven by the driving motor 128.

The drive pulley 129 is connected by means of an endless belt 131 to apulley 130a which is integrally formed with a power train gear 130. Thepower train gear 130 is associated with a planetary gear train 132 towhich it transmits the driving force of the driving motor. As shown inFIG. 15, the planetary gear train 132 has a support shaft 133. A sleeve134 surrounds the support shaft 133. The sleeve 134 is rotatable aboutthe support shaft 133. An input gear 135 of the planetary gear train 132is fixed to the lower end of the sleeve 134. The input gear 135 engagesthe power train gear 130 so as to be driven by the driving forcetransmitted by the power train gear. A driving gear 136 of substantiallysmaller diameter than the input gear 135 is fixed to the intermediateportion of the sleeve 134 for rotation therewith. An output gear 137 inthe form of a sun gear is rotatably supported at the top of the sleeve134. The output gear 137 is designed to rotate freely relative to thesleeve 134 and to receive rotational force from the driving gear 136 bymeans of one or more planetary gears 142.

The output gear 137 generally has the shape of an upside-down dish madeup of an upper horizontal wall and vertical cylindrical walls. Thevertical cylindrical walls have inside gear teeth 138 engaging theplanetary gears 142. The output gear 137 is integral with a smallerdiameter gear 139. The planetary gears 142 are supported by pins 141which extend upward from the upper surface of another output gear 140.The output gear 140 has the same diameter as the input gear 135. In theshown embodiment, two planetary gears 142 are employed. The planetarygears 142 are supported by the output gear 140 at diametrically opposedposition.

A reduction gear 144 is supported by a support shaft 143 which extendsupwards from the strip 62 of the mechanical chassis 44. The reductiongear 144 has an integral cylindrical sleeve 144a and gear sections 144b.The sleeve section 144a surrounds the support shaft 143 and is free torotate thereabout. On the other hand, the gear section 144b has asubstantially greater diameter than the smaller-diameter gear 139integrally formed with the output gear 137. The reduction gear 144 alsohas a smaller-diameter gear section 144c at the lower end of the sleevesection 144a. The smaller-diameter gear section 144c lies below themajor part of the mechanical chassis 44.

The gear section 144b engages the smaller-diameter gear 139 and so isdriven to rotate by the driving force transmitted through the planetarygear train 132. The gear section 144c, of course, rotates at the samespeed as the gear section 144b e .

A gear 145 mounted beneath the mechanical chassis 44 engages the gearsection 144c of the reduction gear 144. The gear 145, in turn, engagesthe wire driver gear 55 described above.

The driving mechanism also includes reduction gears 146, 147 and 148.The reduction gears 146, 147 and 148 have integral smaller-diameter gearsections 146a, 147a and 148a respectively. The reduction gear 146engages the output gear 140 of the planetary gear train 132. Thesmaller-diameter gear 146a of the reduction gear 146 engages thereduction gear 147. The smaller-diameter section 147a of the reductiongear 147 engages the reduction gear 148. The smaller-diameter section148a of the reduction gear 148 engages the rack teeth 124 of the rackplate 121.

When the motor 128 is running, the revolution of the motor istransmitted to the planetary gear train 132 through the drive shaft128a, the pulley 129, the belt 131 and the power train gear 130. Asdescribed above, the driving force is transmitted from the power traingear 130 to the planetary gear train 132 through the input gear 135.This force drives the input gear 135 to rotate with the sleeve 134 andthe drive gear 136. This driving force is transmitted to either theoutput gear 137 or the output gear 140 selectively. When the output gear140 is prevented from rotating, the output gear 137 is driven by thedriving force transmitted from the drive gear 136 through the planetarygears 142. On the other hand, when the output gear 137 is prevented fromrotating, the output gear 140 is driven.

Specifically, when the output gear 140 is prevented from rotating, thepins 141 supporting the planetary gears 142 are held in place.Therefore, the planetary gears 142 are driven through the drive gear 136without actually turning. Since the planetary gears 142 aresynchronously driven via the drive gear, they can drive the output gear137. The rotation of the output gear 137 is transmitted to the wiredriver gear through the smaller-diameter gear 139, the reduction gear144 and the gear 145.

On the other hand, when the output gear 137 is prevented from rotating,the planetary gears 142 driven to rotate by the drive gear 136 receive acounterdriving force from the output gear 137 which causes them to turn.Since the planetary gears 142 are supported by the pins 141 extendingfrom the output gear 140, the output gear 140 is thus driven to rotatevia the drive gear 136 and the planetary gears 142. Rotation of theoutput gear 140 is transmitted to the rack teeth 124 of the rack plate121 through the reduction gears 146, 147 and 148.

The driving motor 128 employed in the shown embodiment is a reversiblemotor which can be driven in either a forward or a reverse direction. InFIG. 7, when the driving motor is driven forward, the planetary gears142 are driven clockwise, and when the motor is driven in reverse, theplanetary gears 142 are driven counterclockwise. The driving motor 128is driven forward during cassette loading and in reverse during cassetteejection.

In response to clockwise rotation of the planetary gear 142 due toforward rotation of the driving motor 128, the output gear 137, whenfree to rotate rotates clockwise, thus driving the reduction gear 144counterclockwise. The gear 145 is thus driven clockwise and in turndrives the wire driver gear 55 counterclockwise. This causes backwardmovement of the sliding frame 65. When the output gear 140 is allowed torotate and the planetary gears 142 are driven clockwise, the output gear140 rotates counterclockwise. This causes clockwise rotation of thereduction gear 146 together with the smaller-diameter gear 146a, whichmeans the reduction gear 147 rotates counterclockwise at a reducedspeed. The counterclockwise rotation of the smaller-diameter gear 147aof the reduction gear 147 causes clockwise rotation of the reductiongear 148 at a also reduced speed. This drives the rack plate 121forward.

Therefore, as will be appreciated, by driving the motor 128 forward, thesliding frame 65 is driven to the drawn-in position and the rack plate121 is shifted frontward, causing downward movement of the cassetteholder 83 to the downward shifted position, whereupon the cassetteloading operation has been completed.

Conversely, by driving the driving motor 128 in reverse, the wire drivergear is driven clockwise, causing the sliding frame 65 to move forward.Similarly, by driving the driving motor in reverse, the reduction gear148 is driven counterclockwise, causing rearward movement of the rackplate 121 and thus upward movement of the cassette holder 83 to theupward shifted position.

CONTROL MEANS (FIGS. 7, 8 to 12 and 14)

The sliding frame 65 has a locking plate 149. The locking plate 149 isfixedly secured to the inner surface of the side wall 67 near the rearend of the sliding frame. The locking plate 149 has a lateral lockingstrip 149a which extends inward from the lower edge of the front end ofthe locking plate 149. The locking strip 149a opposes the longitudinalcenter of the rack plate 121 when in the rearward shifted position. Thefree, forward corner of the locking strip 149a is bevelled at an angleof at about 45°. With this construction, the locking strip 149acooperates with a locking pin 159 of a locking lever 157 which will bedescribed later.

The sliding frame 65 is also provided with a cam plate 150. The camplate 150 is fixedly attached to the rear half of the lower edge of theside wall 67. Near its longitudinal center, the cam plate 150 has a camsection 151 extending laterally inward from the inner edge of its majorsection. Both the front and rear edges 151a and 151b of the cam section151 are tapered toward the inner edge. The cam section 151 does notextended as far inward as the locking strip 149a .

A locking lever 152, best seen in FIG. 11, serves to restrictlongitudinal movement of the rack plate 121. The major section 152a ofthe locking lever 152 is generally triangular in plan view. An extension152b extends frontward from the front end of the major section 152a. Thelocking lever 152 has a hole 153 at the juncture between the majorsection 152a and the extension 152b. Pins 154 and 155 extend upwardsfrom opposite rear corners of the major section 152a .

The hole 153 in the locking lever 152 receives the guide pin 127 whichsupports the front end of the rack plate 121 and slidingly engages theelongated hole 122 in the rack plate. The pin 154 of the locking lever152 slidingly engages the elongated hole 123 in the rack plate 121. Theextension 152b has an aperture which receives one end of a bias spring156. The other end of the bias spring 156 engages the opening 64 throughthe mechanical chassis 44. Thus, the bias spring 156 exerts a springforce on the locking lever causing pivotal movement of the locking lever152 about the guide pin 127. The locking recess 123a of the elongatedhole 123 is designed to oppose the pin 154 when the rack plate 121 is inthe aforementioned rearward shifted position. At this position, thelocking lever 152 can be pivotally moved by the bias spring 156 toinsert the pin 154 into the locking recess 123a. As a result, lockingengagement between the pin 154 and the locking recess 123a isestablished to prevent the rack plate 121 from moving longitudinally.The locking engagement between the pin 154 and the locking recess 123ais maintained until the locking lever is pivoted against the springforce of the bias spring 156.

Under these conditions, the pin 155 is located to the rear of the camsection 151 of the cam plate 150. During rearward movement of thesliding frame 65, the rear edge of the cam section 151 of the cam plate150 comes into contact with the pin 155 and shifts the latter so as tocause reverse pivotal movement of the locking lever 152. Therefore, asset forth above, the locking engagement between the locking recess 123aand the pin 154 is released to allow forward movement of the rack plate121.

Another locking lever 157 serves to lock the sliding frame 65. Thelocking lever 157 is generally flat and longitudinally elongated andlies just outside of the rack plate 121. The rear end of the lockinglever 157 has an upright, C-shaped section 157a. A support pin 158extends upward from the upper surface of the mechanical chassis 44 andsupports the locking lever 157. The upper section of the support pin 158extends through the channel-shaped section 157a and engages thehorizontal surface of the channel-shaped section. The locking lever 157supported by the support pin 158 so as to be free to pivot about theaxis of the support pin 158.

The front end of the locking lever 157 also has a lock pin 159. The lockpin 159 extends downward from the lower surface of the front end of thelocking lever 157. The locking lever 157 also has a contact pin 160extending downward from the lower surface of the section between itsfront and rear ends. The contact pin 160 abuts a peripheral face of acam section 161 of the rack plate 121. The cam section 161 has anoblique front edge 161a. With this construction, the locking lever 157is actuated to pivot counterclockwise in accordance with frontwardmovement of the rack plate 121, as viewed in FIG. 7. On the other hand,the locking lever 157 is normally biased to pivot clockwise by a biasspring 163. One end of the bias spring 163 engages a pin 162 extendingfrom the upper surface of the mechanical chassis and the other endengages the vertical portion of the channel-shaped section 157a of thelocking lever 157. This spring force assures contact between the contactpin 159 and the cam face of the cam section 161 and thus ensurescounterclockwise pivotal movement of the locking lever 157 according tofrontward movement of the rack plate 121.

As will be appreciated from FIG. 7, while the rack plate 121 is in therearward shifted position, the contact pin 159 is in contact with thefront end of the cam face 161a. When the rack plate 121 is drivenfrontward, the cam face 161a moves frontward, causing lateraldisplacement of the contact pin 159. Accordingly, the locking lever 157pivots counterclockwise against the spring force of the spring 163.

It should be appreciated that the sliding frame 65 and the cassetteholder 83 are driven by the driving mechanism made up by the lockingstrip 149a the cam section 151, the locking lever 152 and the lockinglever 157, in the manner given below. During loading and ejection of themagnetic tape cassette 20, the sliding frame 65 and the cassette holder83 are alternatingly locked to prevent moving and released to be free tomove. During cassette loading or ejection, one of the sliding frame 65and the cassette holder 83 will be locked while the other will be freeto move.

Specifically, during cassette loading, the sliding frame 65 with thecassette holder 83 is initially in the drawn-out position in order toreceive the magnetic tape cassette. At this position, the sliding frame65 is free to move toward the drawn-in position. At the same time, thecassette holder 83 is locked in the upward shifted position and isprevented from moving downward. When the sliding frame 65 reaches thedrawn-in position, it is locked in place and the cassette holder 83becomes free to move downward to the downward shifted position. At thedownward shifted position of the cassette holder 83, the reel hubs ofthe magnetic tape cassette 20 engage the reel shafts 37 and 38 and thuscassette loading is completed.

Similarly, during ejection, first the cassette holder 83 is shifted fromthe downward shifted position to the upward shifted position. Duringthis upward movement of the cassette holder 83, the sliding frame 65 islocked in the drawn-in position. After the cassette holder 83 reachesthe upward shifted position and is locked in the upward shiftedposition, the sliding frame 65 becomes free to move from the drawn-inposition to the drawn-out position.

In order to perform the aforementioned selective locking operation, thelocking lever 152 is actuated by the cam section 151 of the slidingframe 65 at its fully rearward shifted position, i.e. the drawn-inposition. Therefore, as long as the sliding frame 65 is somewhere otherthan the drawn-in position, the locking lever 152 is locked in place bylocking engagement between the locking pin 154 and the locking recess123a of the rack plate 121. This locking engagement, in turn, preventsthe rack plate 121 from moving frontward. Locking the rack plate 121 inthe rearward shifted position prevents the reduction gear 148 fromrotating. Therefore, the output gear 140 is locked in place.

Under these conditions, the output gear 137 is driven by the planetarygear train 132 while the driving motor 128 is running. As discussedbefore, as the output gear 137 drives the wire driver gear 55, thesliding frame 65 is driven frontward or rearward between the drawn-outand drawn-in positions.

As will be appreciated, the rack plate 121 is locked in the rearwardshifted position under these conditions. Therefore, the cassette holder83 is held in the upward shifted position.

It should be also be appreciated that a detector (not shown) detectswhen the sliding frame 65 reaches the drawn out position duringfrontward movement thereof. The detector produces a detector signalwhich shuts off the power supply to the driving motor 128 so as to stopthe latter.

During rearward movement of the sliding frame 65 from the drawn-outposition to the drawn-in position, the cam section 151 of the slidingframe comes into contact with the pin 155 of the locking lever 151.Since the tapered edge 151a of the cam section 151 causes pivotalmovement of the locking lever 151 against the biasing force of thespring 156, the locking pin 155 is released from the locking recess 123awhen the sliding frame 65 reaches the drawn-in position. This permitsthe rack plate 121 to move frontward when driven by the driving motor128 through the power train system.

At approximately the same time, the locking strip 149a of the slidingframe 65 opposes the locking pin 159 of the locking lever 157. Since thesliding frame 65 is in the drawn-in position, the wire drive gear 55 isprevented from rotating. Therefore, the output gear 137 will not rotate.Simultaneously, the output gear 140 is released and thus can be drivenby the driving force of the driving motor 128.

The driving force of the driving motor 128 transmitted through theplanetary gear train 132 drives the rack plate 121 frontward. Frontwardmovement of the rack plate 121 in turn drives the cassette holder 83downward to the downward shifted position.

During this frontward movement of the rack plate 121, the cam edge 161aof the cam section 161 pushes the contact pin 160 of the locking lever157 laterally. Therefore, the locking lever 157 is pivotedcounterclockwise. As a result, the locking pin 159 comes into engagementwith the front edge of the locking strip 149a. Therefore, lockingengagement between the locking pin 159 and the locking strip 149a isestablished to prevent the sliding frame 65 from moving frontward, asshown in FIG. 9.

At approximately the same time the cassette holder 83 reaches thedownward shifted position, the rear ends of the slots 122 come intocontact with the guide pins 127. Thus, the rack plate 121 is alsoprevented from moving frontward. Therefore, at this position, all of thecomponents of the cassette loading mechanism are prevented from moving.On the other hand, a detector (not shown) detects that the cassetteholder 83 is in the downward shifted position after cassette loading.The detector then produces a detector signal which cuts off the powersupply to the driving motor 128.

In the cassette ejection operation, the driving motor 128 is driven inreverse. The driving force of the driving motor 128 is transmitted tothe planetary gear train 132. At this time, since the sliding frame 65is locked and thus prevented from moving frontward, the output gear 137is also locked. Therefore, the driving force is transmitted to thereduction gear 148 through the output gear 140 of the planetary geartrain 132, and the reduction gears 146 and 147. At this time, thereduction gear 148 rotates clockwise to drive the rack plate 121rearward. This causes the slider 116 to move rearward due to theresilient force of the spring 112. Therefore, the cassette holder 83moves upward toward the upward shifted position.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the rack plate 121 is in the rearward shiftedposition, the pusher member 126 of the rack plate 121 is positioned inopposition to the inwardly bent rear end 117 of the slider 116 with agiven clearance. The cassette holder 83 reaches the upward shiftedposition before the rack plate 121 reaches the rearward shiftedposition.

When the rack plate 121 reaches the rearward shifted position, thelocking lever 157 becomes free of the lateral biasing force exerted bythe cam edge 161a of the cam section 161 of the rack plate 121.Therefore, it returns to its initial position due to the spring force ofthe spring 163. This pivotal movement of the locking lever 157 releasesthe locking pin 159 of the locking lever 157 from the locking strip149a. Thus, the sliding frame 65 is free to move frontward.

Upon reaching the rearward shifted position, the front ends of the guideslots 122 of the rack plate 121 come into contact with the guide pins127 which prevent the rack plate 121 from moving also rearward. Thisprevents further rotation of the reduction gear 148 and thus locks theoutput gear 140. Since the slider frame 65 is free to move and theoutput gear 140 is locked, the driving force of the driving motor 128 istransmitted to the wire driver gear 55 through the output gear 137 ofthe planetary gear train 132. Reverse rotation of the driving motor 128causes clockwise rotation of the wire driver gear 55. Therefore, thesliding frame 65 is driven frontward to the drawn-out position.

According to frontward movement of the sliding frame 65, the lockinglever 152 is pivoted to the locking position. Specifically, duringfrontward movement of the sliding frame 65 from the drawn-in position tothe drawn out position, the cam section 151 moves away from the pin 155of the locking lever 152. Therefore, the locking lever 152 becomes freefrom the lateral pivoting force exerted by way of the cam section 151.Therefore, the locking lever 152 is returned to the locking position, inwhich the pin 154 engages the locking recess 123a, by the spring forceof the spring 156.

Therefore, the rack plate 121 is locked in the rearward shiftedposition. The rack plate 121 is held in the rearward shifted positionuntil the sliding frame 65 is shifted backward to the rearward shiftedposition.

The cassette holder 83 is provided with a pair of cassette holding means164 at its rear ends. Each of the cassette holding means 164 comprises agenerally L-shaped support member 165. The support member 165 is made ofa resilient material and has a vertical section extending upward fromthe rear end of the side wall 85 and 86 of the cassette holder 83, and ahorizontal section extending laterally from the top of theaforementioned vertical section.

A pusher member 166 is mounted on the lower surface of the horizontalsection of the support member 165. The pusher member 166 is made of asynthetic resin and has an essentially conical downward section and aflat upper surface. A pin 167 protrudes upwards from the center of theupper surface. The pin 167 extends through an opening 168 through thehorizontal section of support member 165, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.The top of the pin 167 is clamped to fix the pushing member 166 onto thehorizontal section of the support member 165.

CASSETTE RECEPTACLE (FIGS. 1, 6, 7, 13, 14)

A holder frame 169 is mounted at the front of the sliding frame 65. Theholder frame 169 has a front wall 170. The front wall 170 conforms insize to the cassette receptacle opening 34 in the front panel 33a of thehousing 33. When the sliding frame 65 is in the drawn-in position, thefront surface of the front wall of the holding frame 169 lies flush withthe front surface of the front panel. The front wall 170 has an inclinedrear surface which thickens towards its bases.

A cut-out 170b is formed at the lateral center of the rear surface 170aof the front wall 170.

The holder frame 169 has side walls 171. The side walls 171 both havecut-outs 171a in their front ends. The holder frame 169 also has abottom plate 172. The bottom plate 172 extends horizontally from thelower edge of the front wall 170. The rear edge of the bottom plate 172lies near the longitudinal center of the cut-out recess 171a. The bottomplate 172 has a laterally centered cut-out groove 172a. The cut-out 172ais laterally positioned opposite the cut-out 170b of the front wall 170and its front end adjoins the lower end of the latter.

The holder frame 169 also has a ceiling plate 173 extending laterallyover the rear ends of the side walls 171. The side walls 171 havelateral recesses 174 near their rear ends and immediately in front ofthe junctures between the ceiling plate 173 and the side walls 171.These recesses 174 are generally rectangular and receive the cassetteholding means 165 of the cassette holder 83. The ceiling plate 173 has acut-out 75 in its rear edge. The cut-out 175 is centered laterally onthe ceiling plate and is generally trapezoidal with its wider side alongthe rear edge.

The bottom plate 172 of the holder frame 169 generally opposes the frontplate 69 of the sliding frame 65 but is slightly higher than the latter.The ceiling plate 173 is longitudinally positioned such that its lateraledges overlap the front part of the supporting strip 73 of the slidingframe 65. The holder frame 169 is fixed to the sliding frame 65 by meansof fastening screws 176 which engage the threaded holes 72 and 74.

The side walls 171 of the holder frame 170 cover the side walls 85, 86of the cassette holder 83, the side walls 66, 67 of the sliding frame 65and the associated lever mechanism described above. Therefore, theycannot be seen from outside even when the sliding frame 65 is in thedrawn-out position and thus the cassette holder 83 is in the ejectposition.

It should be appreciated when the cassette holder 83 is in the upwardshifted position, its bottom wall 84 lies flush with the bottom plate172 of the holder frame 170. In this case, the front edge of the bottomwall 84 of the cassette holder 83 lies longitudinally immediately behindthe rear edge of the bottom plate 172 of the holder frame 170.

When the cassette holder 83 is in the upward shifted position, itconstitutes a cassette receptacle 177 which receives the magnetic tapecassette 1. The bottom wall 84 of the cassette holder 83 cooperates withthe bottom plate 172 and the side walls 171 of the holder frame 170 todefine the cassette receptacle 177.

As can easily be appreciated, when the sliding frame 65 is in thedrawn-out position, the cassette receptacle 177 protrudes from the frontsurface of the front panel 33a of the housing. In this cassettereceptacle position, the magnetic tape 1 can be inserted and removed.The cut-outs 171a in the side walls 171 of the holder frame 170 allowthe user to conveniently grasp the magnetic tape cassette.

The magnetic tape cassette 1 can be inserted in the cassette receptacle177 by the following steps:

first, the magnetic tape cassette 1 is held at an angle so that itsfront edge is lower than the rear edge;

at this inclined position, the front end is inserted into the clearancebetween the ceiling plate 173 and the bottom plate 84 of the cassetteholder 83; and

thereafter, the rear edge is pushed downward to complete insertion ofthe magnetic tape cassette into the cassette receptacle.

The position of the cassette in the cassette receptacle resulting fromthe above series of steps will hereafter be referred to as the"provisionally set position".

When the magnetic tape cassette 1 is in the provisionally set position,the pivotal closure lid 9 and the sliding closure member 11 are stillheld in their respective closed positions. In this position, the contactpieces 90 of the cassette holder 83 contact the corresponding contactpieces 15 of the sliding closure member 11 through the cut-outs 24 ofthe pivotal closure lid 9. Also, when the magnetic tape cassette 1 is inthe provisionally set position, the apertures 20 of the sliding closuremember 11 are in alignment with the corresponding through openings 87.Furthermore, in this position, the cassette holding means 164elastically depresses the front edge of the magnetic tape cassette 1downward by way of the pushing members 166.

CASSETTE SETTING MECHANISM (FIGS. 7, 8, 12 to 14)

A cassette setting mechanism serves to shift the magnetic tape cassette1 from the provisionally set position to a position wherein the pivotalclosure lid 9 and the sliding closure member 11 are both open and theapertures 21 of the cassette casing 2 are in alignment with theapertures 20 and the through openings 87. The cassette setting mechanismgenerally comprises pusher levers 178 and 179.

The pusher lever 178 is flat, laterally elongated and bent in themiddle. The pusher lever 178 has an opening 180 at the bend. The pin 71projecting upward from the front panel 69 of the sliding frame 65 passesthrough the opening 180 and pivotably supports the latter. A pushing pin181 projects upward from one end of the pusher lever 178. An actuationpin 182 extends downward from the other end of the pusher lever 178. Thepusher lever 178 also has a rearward strip 183. The strip 183 has a holewhich anchors one end of a bias spring 185. The other end of the biasspring 185 engages a pin 184 extending downward from the lower surfaceof the front panel 69 of the sliding frame 65.

It should be appreciated that the pusher lever 178 is disposed Within aclearance between the front panel 69 of the sliding frame 65 and thelower end of the front wall 170 of the holder frame 169. The pushing pin181 protrudes through the groove 172a in the bottom plate of the holderframe 169 and reaches into the recess 171b in the front wall 171 whenpivoted frontward. The actuation pin 182 opposes the vertical section42b of the contact strip 42 of the mechanical chassis.

In the normal position, the pusher lever 178 is biased by means of thebias spring 185 so that the pushing pin 180 lies within the recess 170bof the front wall 170 of the holder frame 169, as shown in FIG. 7. Theactuation pin 182 comes into contact with the vertical section 42b ofthe contact strip 42 of the mechanical chassis 44 while ;the slidingframe 65 is driven from the drawn-out position to the drawn-in position.This causes the pusher lever 178 to pivot clockwise about the pin 71 asviewed in FIG. 7 against the spring force of the bias spring 185.Therefore, the pushing pin 180 is shifted rearward along the groove 172aof the bottom plate 172 of the holder frame 169. During this rearwardshift, the pushing pin 180 pushes the magnetic tape cassette 1 rearward.

During this rearward movement of the magnetic tape cassette 1, the frontend 91a enters the groove 22, comes into contact with the locking head29 and so pushes the latter upward, as shown in FIG. 17(A). Therefore,the sliding closure member 11 is released and thus is free to moverearward in response to the force exerted through the contact pieces 15and 90. The sliding closure member 11 is thus shifted from the closedposition to the open position. As a result, the pivotal closure member 9becomes free to pivot. Therefore, the pivotal closure lid 9 can movefrom the closed position to the open position.

When the magnetic tape cassette 1 within the holder frame 169 reachesthe rearward limit of travel, the rear end of the cassette casing 2 liesslightly rearward of the front edge of the cross-member 75 of thesliding frame 65. At this position, the pushing members 166 of thecassette holding means 164 contact the upper surface of the uppersection 3 of the cassette casing 1 at points rearward of the front edgeof the cassette. Specifically, the pushing members 166 exert a downwardforce on the center of the magnetic tape cassette 1. This holds themagnetic tape cassette 1 securely in the set position.

The pusher lever 179 is generally flat and laterally elongated. Thepusher lever 179 has a through opening 187 at its center. Also, thepusher lever 179 has a longitudinal strip 188 which extends rearwardfrom the rear edge of the lateral section. A pusher pin 189 extendsdownward from the lower surface of the inner end of the pusher lever179. The pusher lever 179 is pivotally supported by means of a pivot pin190 which extends from the cross-member 75 of the sliding frame 65. Thepusher lever 179 is biased counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 7 by abias spring 192 which is anchored between the strip 188 and a lateralstrip 191 extending inward from the guide block 77.

As will be appreciated from FIG. 7, the pivot pin 190 is laterallyoffset from the longitudinal center so that its inner end carrying thepusher pin 189 lies near the center. The outer end of the pusher lever179 opposes the rear face of the vertical section 49a of the bracket 49.While the sliding frame 65 is in the drawn-in position, the outer end ofthe pusher lever 179 supported by the cross-member 75 is in the rearwardshifted position. Therefore, the pusher lever 179 is separated from therear face of the vertical section 49a of the bracket 49, as shown inFIG. 8. At the same time, the counterclockwise biasing force exerted bythe bias spring 192 holds the pusher lever 179 angularly offsetcounterclockwise. At this position, the pusher pin 189 engages thecut-out 76 in the central section of the front edge of the cross-member75. As a result, the pusher lever 179 extends essentially laterally.This lever position of the pusher lever 179 will hereafter be referredto as a "stand-by" position.

It should be appreciated that, at the stand-by position of the pusherlever 179, the pusher pin 189 lies in front of the front end of themagnetic tape cassette 1.

When the sliding frame 65 moves from the drawn-in position to thedrawn-out position, the pusher lever 179 is carried with thecross-member 75. During this frontward movement of the sliding frame 65,the pusher lever 179 is held in at the stand-by position until its outerend comes into contact with the rear face of the vertical section 49a ofthe bracket 49. Further frontward movement of the sliding frame 65 withthe cross-member 75 while holding the outer end of the pusher lever 179in contact with the vertical section 49a drives the pusher lever 179clockwise against the bias spring force of the spring 192. This causesthe pusher pin 189 to contact the front end of the magnetic tapecassette 1. As a result, the magnetic tape cassette 1 is pushedbackwards to the provisionally set position. This backward movement ofthe magnetic tape cassette within the holder frame 169 due to the forceexerted through the pusher lever 179 terminates when the sliding frame65 reaches the drawn-out position.

During the aforementioned movement from the set position to theprovisionally set position, the pivotal closure lid 9 and slidingclosure member 11 are returned to their respective closed positions fromtheir open positions.

OPENING AND CLOSING THE SLIDING CLOSURE MEMBER (FIGS. 1 to 5, 17(A) to17(D))

As set forth above, during cassette loading and ejection, the slidingclosure member 11 of the magnetic tape cassette 1 is automatically movedbetween the closed and open positions. Specifically, during the cassetteloading process, the sliding closure member 11 is moved from the closedposition to the open position in order to enable tape loading,recording, reproduction and so forth; and during cassette ejection, thesliding closure member 11 is returned to the closed position. Thismovement includes locking and unlocking the sliding closure member 11.The sliding closure member 11 is locked at both the closed position andthe open position.

The sliding closure; member is opened during movement of the magnetictape cassette 1 from the provisionally set position to the set positionwithin the holder frame 169 by the effect of the pusher lever 178. Onthe other hand, the sliding closure member is closed during movement ofthe magnetic tape cassette 1 from the set position to the provisionallyset position within the holder frame 169 by the effect of the pusherlever 179. The sliding closure opening and closing operations will bedescribed herebelow, generally with reference to FIGS. 17(A) to 17(D).

In the cassette loading operation, first the magnetic tape cassette 1 isplaced on the cassette receptacle 177 defined within the holder frame169, as set forth above. Then, the magnetic tape cassette 1 is moved tothe provisionally set position. At this position, the cut-out 23 of thepivotal closure lid 9 is positioned in front of the longitudinalprojection 91 of the bottom plate 84 of the cassette holder 83, whichconstitutes the bottom of the cassette receptacle 177. At the same time,the locking head 29 of the locking lever 27 maintains locking engagementwith the circular hole 26 of the sliding closure member 11 and thusholds the sliding closure member locked in the closed position.

Under these conditions, the sliding frame 65 is driven backwardly fromthe drawn-out position to the drawn-in position, carrying with it thecassette holder 83 and the holder frame 169. This backward movement ofthe sliding frame 65 actuates the pusher lever 178 which pushes themagnetic tape cassette 1 from the provisionally set position to the setposition.

Initial movement of the magnetic tape cassette 1 through a certaindistance causes the projection 91 of the bottom plate 84 of the cassetteholder 83 to protrude into the groove 22 of the sliding closure member11 through the cut-out 23 of the pivotal closure lid 9. The taperedfront end 91a of the projection 91 then opposes the locking head 29 ofthe locking lever 27 projecting into the groove 22 through the circularhole 26 of the sliding closure member 11. Further movement of themagnetic tape cassette toward the set position brings the tapered frontend 91a of the projection 91 into contact with the lower end of thelocking head 29. Therefore, the locking head 29 is pushed upwardly untilits lower end lies flush with the lower surface of the sliding closuremember. At the same time, the claws 90 of the strips 89 come intocontact with the contact pieces 15 through the cut-outs 24 of thepivotal closure member 9. The claws 90 exert a rearward force on thesliding closure member 11 through the contact pieces 15 according to themovement of the magnetic tape cassette. Since the walls of the circularhole 26 are tapered as shown in FIG. 17(A), the locking head 29 of thelocking lever 27 raised also until its lower end rests on the uppersurface of the sliding closure member, as shown in FIG. 17(B). Thus, thesliding closure member 11 is released from the closed position by themovement of the magnetic tape cassette from the provisionally setposition to the set position.

In this released state, the sliding closure member 11 is moved to theopen position by the rearward force exerted on the contact pieces 15thereof through the claws 90.

At the open position, the locking head 29 engages the cut-out 25 of thesliding closure member 11. This locks the sliding closure member 11 inthe open position.

At this position, the apertures 20 are aligned with the apertures 21 ofthe lower section 4 of the cassette casing 2 which are, in turn, alignedwith the through openings 87 of the cassette holder.

At the same time, this movement of the sliding closure member 11 to theopen position releases the restriction on pivotal movement of thepivotal closure lid 9. Therefore, the pivotal closure lid 9 may pivotfrom the closed position to the open position. Actuation of the pivotalclosure lid 9 from the closed position to the open position is performedin a per se well-known manner during movement of the magnetic tapecassette from the provisionally set position to the set position.

In the cassette ejection operation, the pusher lever 179 is actuatedaccording to frontward movement of the sliding frame 65 from thedrawn-in position to the drawn-out position. This causes movement of themagnetic tape cassette 1 from the set position to the provisionally setposition, as set forth above. At the initial stage of magnetic tapecassette movement toward the provisionally set position, the taperedrear end 91b of the projection 91 comes into contact with the lower endof the locking head 29 of the locking lever 27. Further movement of themagnetic tape cassette 1 toward the provisionally set position raisesthe locking head 29 into alignment with the lower surface of the slidingclosure member 11. Since the sliding closure member 11 is biasedfrontwardly toward the closed position by means of the torsion spring18, and since the walls of the cut-out 25 are tapered as shown in FIG.17(C), the locking head 29 is raised also until the sliding closuremember 11 is free to move from the open position to the closed position.At the same time, the claws 90 moved frontward with the cassette holder83. Therefore, the sliding closure member 11 becomes free of the claws90. Thus, the sliding closure member 11 moves from the open position tothe closed position due to the biasing force exerted by the torsionspring 18. At the closed position of the sliding closure member 11, thelocking head 29 again engages the circular hole 26 of the slidingclosure member to prevent the sliding closure member from accidentallymoving to the open position.

During the aforementioned movement of the sliding closure movement fromthe set position to the provisionally set position, the pivotal closurelid 9 is actuated from the open position to the closed position by a perse well-known mechanism. When the sliding closure member 11 is in theclosed position, the upper edges of the sliding closure member 11 abutthe side arms of the pivotal closure lid and so prevent the pivotalclosure lid from pivoting. Therefore, the pivotal closure lid 9 is alsolocked in the closed position.

CASSETTE LOADING AND EJECTION OPERATIONS

An eject button (not shown) mounted on the front panel 33a of thehousing 33 is depressed to eject the magnetic tape cassette from theabove-described preferred embodiment of the recording and/or reproducingapparatus according to the invention, or to prepare the cassettereceptacle for loading. In response to depression of the eject button,the driving motor 128 starts driving in a reverse direction. As setforth above, when the driving motor 128 runs in reverse, first, itraises the cassette holder from the downward shifted position to theupward shifted position. After the cassette holder 83 is locked in theupward shifted position, the sliding frame 65 is driven frontward alongwith the cassette holder 83 and the holder frame 169. Thus, the slidingframe 65 is shifted to the drawn-out position. At this time, drivingforce is transmitted to the sliding frame driving wire 81 through theplanetary gear train 132. In the drawn-out position of the sliding frame65, the cassette receptacle 177 defined by the holder frame 169 and thecassette holder 83 is exposed to the outside of the housing 33 forreceiving the magnetic tape cassette 1.

At this position, the magnetic tape cassette 1 is placed into thecassette receptacle 177. In order to initiate cassette loading, thepresence of the magnetic tape cassette 1 may be detected by means of anappropriate sensor (not shown). Alternatively, the recording and/orreproducing apparatus may have a "load button" (not shown) on thehousing 33 to initiate loading.

When the driving motor 128 runs forward, the sliding frame 65 is drivenrearward by the driving mechanism described above to the drawn-inposition. During this rearward movement of the sliding frame 65, thepusher lever 178 is actuated to push the magnetic tape cassette 1 intothe cassette receptacle 177 to the set position. The sliding closuremember 11 and the pivotal closure lid 9 are then actuated from theclosed position to the open position. When the sliding frame 65 reachesthe drawn-in position, power transmission for the driving motor 128 isswitched so as to drive the cassette holder 83. Therefore, the cassetteholder 83 carrying the magnetic tape cassette 1 is driven downward tothe downward shifted position to complete the cassette loadingoperation.

After completing the cassette loading operation, tape loading operationis initiated. The mechanisms and operation of tape loading system arecommonly known for rotary-head-type recorders. One example of such atape loading system has been disclosed in the co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 739287, filed on May 30, 1985, by Tsuyoshi Nagasawaet al and assigned to assignee of the present invention. Thecorresponding tape loading system has been disclosed in the EuropeanPatent First Publication No. 0163527, published on Dec. 4, 1985.

For unloading the magnetic tape 1, the aforementioned eject button isdepressed to start the driving motor 128 running in, reverse. Asdescribed above, the cassette holder 83 is then driven to the upwardlyshifted position and the sliding frame 65 is driven to the drawn-outposition. At the same time, the pusher lever 179 is actuated to push themagnetic tape cassette 1 from the set position to the provisionally setposition. Therefore, at the drawn-out position of the sliding frame 65,the magnetic tape cassette 1 can be removed from the receptacle 177.

ANOTHER EMBODIMENT (FIG. 18)

FIG. 18 shows another embodiment of the recording and/or reproducingapparatus for a magnetic tape cassette according to the presentinvention. The shown alternative embodiment differs from the preferredembodiment of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus with regard tothe driving mechanism for driving the sliding frame between thedrawn-out position and the drawn-in position, and driving the cassetteholder between the upward shifted position and downward shiftedposition. The driving mechanism according to this embodiment will begenerally represented by the reference numeral 43A.

The driving mechanism 43A employs mutually independently operable motors193 and 198. The motor 193 is intended to drive the sliding frame 65between the drawn-out position and the drawn-in position. A drive pulley194 is fixedly mounted on the output shaft 193a of the motor 193. Thedrive pulley is connected to a driven pulley section 195a of a powertrain gear 195 via an endless belt 196. The power train gear 195 engagesa reduction gear 197. The reduction gear 197 has an integralsmaller-diameter gear 197a. The smaller-diameter gear 197a engages thereduction gear 144 which is identical to that of the former embodiment.Specifically, the reduction gear 144 has a cylindrical sleeve extendingdownward and a gear section at the lower end of the sleeve. The gearsection engages the intermediate gear represented by the referencenumeral 145 in the previous embodiment. The reduction gear 144 isconnected to the driving gear 55 associated with the wire drive pulley56 via the intermediate gear.

It should be appreciated that, as in the previous embodiment, the motor193 is driven in reverse to drive the sliding frame 65 from the drawn-inposition to the drawn-out position. On the other hand, the motor 193 isdriven forward when driving the sliding frame 65 from the drawn-outposition to the drawn-in position.

The motor 198 is intended to drive the cassette holder 83 between theupward shifted position and the downward shifted position by driving therack plate 121 longitudinally between the frontward shifted position andthe rearward shifted position.

The motor 198 has an output shaft 198a. A drive pulley 199 is fixed tothe output shaft 198a. The drive pulley 199 cooperates with a pulleysection 200a of a power train gear 200 through an endless belt 201. Thepower train gear 200 is directly connected to the first reduction gear146. As explained with respect to the previous embodiment, thereductions gears 146, 147 and 148 constitute a reduction gear trainwhich transmits the force of the driving motor 198 to the rack plate 121to drive the latter longitudinally.

As in the previous embodiment, the motor 198 is driven in reverse todrive the rack plate 121 to the rearward shifted position and, thus todrive the cassette holder 83 from the downward shifted position to theupward shifted position. On the other hand, the motor 198 is drivenforward to drive the rack plate 121 from the rearward shifted positionto the frontward shifted position and, thus to drive the cassette holder83 from the upward shifted position to the downward shifted position.

In order to control drive timing of the motors 193 and 198, sensorsdetect when the sliding frame 65 is in the drawn-out and drawn-inpositions and when the cassette holder 83 is in the upward shifted anddownward shifted positions. When loading a cassette, first the motor 193drives the sliding frame 65 from the drawn-out position to the drawn-inposition. A sensor detects when the sliding frame 65 reaches thedrawn-in position, whereupon the motor 193 stops running and the motor198 starts to run. The motor 198 then drives the rack plate 121frontward to the frontward shifted position so that the cassette holder83 is shifted downward to the downward shifted position. When thecassette holder 83 reaches the downward shifted position, a sensordetects the presence of the cassette holder 83 and turns off the motor198. Thus, the cassette loading process has been completed.

When ejecting a cassette, first the motor 198 drives the cassette holder83 from the downward shifted position to the upward shifted position. Asensor detects when the cassette holder 83 reaches the upward shiftedposition. Then, the motor 198 stops running. Once the cassette holder 83reaches the upward shifted position, the motor 193 starts drivingforward to drive the sliding frame 65 from the drawn-in position to thedrawn-out position. At the drawn-out position of the sliding frame 65,the motor 193 stops running in response to detection of the presence ofthe sliding frame by a sensor.

As will be clear from the detailed description given hereabove, therecording and/or reproducing apparatus according to the presentinvention facilitates automatic cassette loading and ejection to theextent that it is necessary only to put the magnetic tape cassette ontoor into a cassette receptable. The cassette loading and ejectionoperations includes automatic actuation of the sliding closure memberand the pivotal closure lid of the magnetic tape between the closedposition and the open position during cassette loading and ejection.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the recordingand/or reproducing apparatus loads a cassette while preventing thecassette holder from simultaneously moving both horizontally andvertically, faulty operation of sensors or other components of thecassette loading mechanism will never result in serious damage to theoverall mechanism.

While the present invention has been disclosed in detail in terms of thespecific embodiments, the invention can be implemented in various ways.Various embodiments and modifications of the shown embodiments can beused to implement the present invention. Therefore, the presentinvention should be appreciated to include all possible embodiments andmodifications which can be embodied without departing from theprinciples of the invention which will be described in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cassette loading, system for a recording and/orreproducing apparatus for a magnetic tape cassette which has a slidingclosure member openably closing a cut-out in the bottom of the cassettecasing, the cassette loading system comprising:cassette holding meansfor receiving and holding said magnetic tape cassette within a cassettereceptacle defined therein, said cassette holding means being movableamong a first position in which said cassette receptacle is exposed forinsertion and removal of said magnetic tape cassette, a second positionhorizontally offset from said first position, and a third positionvertically offset from said second position and at which cassetteloading is completed; first means, cooperating with said cassetteholding means, for driving the latter between said first and secondpositions; second means, cooperating with said cassette holding means,for driving the latter between said second and third positions; andtiming control means, cooperating with said first and second means, forselectively enabling and disabling said first and second driving meansduring movement of said cassette holding means, said timing controlmeans disabling one of said first and second means while the other ofsaid first and second means is enabled.
 2. A cassette loading system asset forth in claim 1, wherein said cassette holding means comprises ahorizontally movable component and a vertically movable component, saidvertically movable component holding said magnetic tape cassette andcooperating with said horizontally movable component at said secondposition for horizontally moving together with said horizontally movablecomponent.
 3. A cassette loading system as set forth in claim 2, whereinsaid horizontally movable component is associated with said first meansto be driven horizontally between said first and second positions whilecarrying said vertically movable component, and said vertically movablecomponent is associated with said second means to be driven verticallybetween said second and third positions independently of saidhorizontally movable component while said horizontal movable componentis held in said second position.
 4. A cassette loading system as setforth in claim 3, which also comprises a first locking means for lockingsaid horizontally movable component in said first position, a secondlocking means for locking said horizontally movable component in saidsecond position, a third locking means for locking said verticallymovable member in said second position and a fourth locking means forlocking said vertically movable component in said third position.
 5. Acassette loading system as set forth in claim 4, wherein said second andthird locking means cooperate with each other at said second position sothat said second locking means locks said horizontally movable componentin said second position while said third locking means in deactivated toallow vertical movement of said vertically movable component, and saidthird locking means locks said vertically movable component in saidsecond position while said second locking means is deactivated to allowhorizontal movement of said horizontally movable component with saidvertically movable component.
 6. A cassette loading system as set forthin claim 4, wherein said second and third locking means cooperate witheach other at said second position so that said second locking meanslocks said horizontally movable component in said second position whilesaid third locking means is deactivated to allow vertical movement ofsaid vertically movable component, and said third locking means lockssaid vertically movable component in said second position while saidsecond locking means is deactivated to allow horizontal movement of saidhorizontally movable component with said vertically movable component.7. A cassette loading system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said firstand second means are driven by a common driving means.
 8. A cassetteloading system as set forth in claim 7, wherein said driving meansincludes a driving motor and power train, said power train includingmeans for selectively transmitting driving force to one of said firstand second means.
 9. A cassette loading system as set forth in claim 8,wherein said driving force transmitting means comprises a first gearassociated with said first means, a second gear associated with saidsecond means, and a third gear associated with said driving motor to bedriven by the latter and selectively transmit the driving force of thedriving motor to one of said first and second gears.
 10. A cassetteloading system as set forth in claim 9, wherein said third geartransmits the driving force to said first gear while said verticallymovable component is locked at said second position, and to said secondgear while said horizontally movable component is locked at said secondposition.
 11. A combination of a magnetic tape cassette and a cassetteloading system in a recording and/or reproducing apparatus for saidmagnetic tape cassette wherein:said magnetic tape cassette includes: acassette casing housing a magnetic tape and having a front openingexposing said magnetic tape therethrough, and a cut-out in its floor forreceiving a tape loading mechanism of a recording and/or reproducingapparatus therethrough; a pivotal closure lid for openably closing saidfront opening of said magnetic tape cassette; a sliding closure membermovable between a closed position closing said cut-out and an openposition opening said cut-out; and locking means, associated with saidsliding closure member, for locking the latter in said closed positionand in said open position; and wherein said loading system comprises:cassette holding means for receiving and holding said magnetic tapecassette within a cassette receptacle defined therein, said cassetteholding means being movable among a first position in which saidcassette receptacle is exposed to facilitate insertion and removal ofsaid magnetic tape cassette, a second position horizontally offset fromsaid first position, and a third position vertically offset from saidsecond position and at which cassette loading is completed; first means,associated with said cassette holding means, for driving the latterbetween said first and second positions; second means, associated withsaid cassette holding means, for driving the latter between said secondposition and third position; and third means, associated with said firstmeans, for selectively actuating said pivotal closure lid and saidsliding closure member between closed positions and open positionsdepending upon cassette holder position between said first and secondpositions.
 12. A cassette loading system for a recording and/orreproducing apparatus for a magnetic tape cassette which has a slidingclosure member openably closing a cut-out in the bottom of the cassettecasing, the cassette loading system comprising:cassette holding meansfor receiving and holding said magnetic tape cassette within a cassettereceptacle defined therein, said cassette holding means being movableamong a first position in which said cassette receptacle is exposed forinsertion and removal of said magnetic tape cassette, a second positionhorizontally offset from said first position, and a third positionvertically offset from said second position and at which cassetteloading is completed; first means, cooperating with said cassetteholding means, for driving the latter between said second and thirdpositions; second means, cooperating with said cassette holding means,for driving the latter between said second and third positions; andtiming control means, cooperating with said first and second means, forselectively enabling and disabling said first and second driving meansduring movement of said cassette holding means, said timing controlmeans disabling one of said first and second means while the other ofsaid first and second means is enabled; a horizontally movable componentand a vertically movable component, said vertically movable componentholding said magnetic tape cassette and cooperating with saidhorizontally movable component at said second position for horizontallymoving together with said horizontally movable component; a firstlocking means for locking said horizontally movable component in saidfirst position, a second locking means for locking said horizontallymovable component in said second position, a third locking means forlocking said vertically movable component in said second position and afourth locking means for locking said vertically movable component insaid third position.
 13. A cassette loading system for a recordingand/or reproducing apparatus for a magnetic tape cassette which has asliding closure member openably closing a cut-out in the bottom of thecassette casing, the cassette loading system comprising:cassette holdingmeans for receiving and holding said magnetic tape cassette within acassette receptacle defined therein, said cassette holding means beingmovable among a first position in which said cassette receptacle isexposed for insertion and removal of said magnetic tape cassette, asecond position horizontally offset from said first position, and athird position vertically offset from said second position and at whichcassette loading is completed; first means, cooperating with saidcassette holding means, for driving the latter between said second andthird positions; second means, cooperating with said cassette holdingmeans, for driving the latter between said second and third positions;and timing control means, cooperating with said first and second means,for selectively enabling and disabling said first and second drivingmeans during movement of said cassette holding means, said timingcontrol means disabling one of said first and second means while theother of said first and second means is enabled; wherein said first andsecond means are driven by a common driving means and said driving meansincludes a driving motor and power train, said power train includingmeans for selectively transmitting driving force to one of said firstand second means, wherein said driving force transmitting meanscomprises a first gear associated with said first means, a second gearassociated with said second means, and a third gear associated with saiddriving motor to be driven by the latter and selectively transmit thedriving force of the driving motor to one of the said first and secondgears; and wherein said third gear transmits the driving force to saidfirst gear while said vertically movable component is locked at saidsecond position, and to said second gear while said horizontally movablecomponent is locked at said second position.